The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has revealed that a National Health Worker Migration Policy has been developed to address the issue of health worker migration in the country.
The Deputy Director of the Department of Health Planning Research and Statistics of the Health System, Dr. Nwakaego Chukwuodinaka, stated this at a policy dialogue organized by the African Health Observatory Platform (AHOP) anchored by the World Health Organization Health (WHO) to discuss the migration of health workers in Africa, Thursday in Africa. Abuja.
Chukwuodinaka said the ministry has recently sent a memo to the Federal Executive Council. What we are asking is to have a managed migration, and to be able to implement this policy, we need an assent from the FEC. One of the key components of health personnel policy is to incentivize those who work on the ground, especially those in rural and disadvantaged areas. Also to sign an agreement with the countries of destination. The pact is that we benefit equally from employing our health workers in the area of providing technology for us, infrastructure and exchange programs to help those we train in the country.”
He further said that the policy paper offers support to those who have migrated and want to return home on how they can absorb them into the system, so that they do not return and feel adrift or frustrated.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Secondary and Tertiary Health Services, Senator Ipalibo Banigo said the brain drain of health workers in sub-Saharan Africa is a very important issue. He said the Health Legislative Agenda of the 10th Senate is to ensure efficient management and a better accountability framework to achieve universal healthcare for all.
This is a platform of various nations in Africa, it is an opportunity to hear what other people are doing in their countries to mitigate this problem of brain drain of health workers. It’s an opportunity to have interactions and look at our expectations and how we can move forward and get better results.
Senator Banigo said that the availability of quality and quantity health workforce in the different health disciplines plays a lot in the health outcomes we have. It is important that we can find strategies and ways to mitigate the brain drain, improve the strength of our health workers and improve their retention to get a better result to compare with the global health standard.
On health funding, he said the funding is abysmally low, a far cry from the Abuja Health Declaration of 15% in 2000. Therefore, the 2024 budget we have implemented for the first time what we call the Vulnerable Group Fund. This Fund has always been in the National Health Law that was passed in 2014, but it has never been implemented. This Fund addresses the health problems of pregnant women, retirees, the elderly, people with disabilities and internally displaced persons. The idea is to channel these Funds through the National Health Insurance, through the State Health Insurance so that it can cover these critical people, because a large part of what causes poverty is the fact that more than 70% of the expenditure healthcare is done out of pocket. . When you spend out of pocket for your health services, you are already pushing further into poverty. So, for the first time in the budget, there is a fund available for them. This is what the joint Senate Health Committee has done in the 2024 Budgets.
However, he called for more partnership with the private sector and development organizations to increase resources in the health sector.
The coordinator of the Integrated African Health Observatory, Dr. Serge Bataliack, said that the brain drain in the health sector has dire consequences for the health outcomes of citizens, explaining that the dialogue was aimed at find solutions that lead to implementable policies.
I think some countries are developing a large part of their health reform agendas. I think this is the right time to make this paradigm shift and find solutions. This discussion will really help activate these decisions and also support the countries. At WHO, our role is really to support countries in generating evidence and also in setting policies that help deliver better health outcomes.”
In his remarks, the member representing Calabar Municipality, Hon Bassey Akiba, representing the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Health Services, said that the workforce is very critical to all systems, adding that the provision of health services can only function optimally if the workforce is strong.
According to him, for Nigeria to deliver healthcare, a dialogue on this issue is necessary. We can only achieve Universal Health Coverage if we have a workforce of quality and quantity.
He assured that the administration of President Bola Tinubus will continue to pay attention to the health care delivery system in the country by ensuring that there is a functional primary care center in every ward in the country, also prioritizing the welfare of health workers through training regular and other incentives.
Professor Obinna Onwujekwe of the Health Policy Research Group of the University of Nigeria and the Director of the National Center of the African Health Observatory Platform (AHOP) said in his speech that the issue of migration of health workers is a topical issue in Nigeria and Africa.
“We need the health workforce to provide services and other things within the sector, and if they all migrate, especially the well-educated ones, there is a problem with the provision of health services. When we remember that one of the big areas to get the universal health coverage is the provision of services, and if they leave, it obviously means that we cannot achieve universal health coverage and the health of the public suffers. That is why it is important to address this issue in order to strengthen ours healthcare system
If we look at the previous indices, we are not even reaching the global standard of health worker-to-patient ratios, and now people are leaving, so it means that these ratios are getting worse. That is why this meeting is very important that we look at the problems from the African perspective, what many countries are doing, what is being done globally and also learn what we are doing here and bring all these ideas together in this political dialogue so that we can find solutions implementable and feasible that can help solve the problem, he added.
The African Health Observatory Platform (AHOP) is anchored by the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, there are five countries under the observatory which are Nigeria, Senegal, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. Also participants from Cape Verde and European countries were present at the political dialogue to share their ideas and experiences.
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