In a bid to address the alarming rate of health workers leaving the country, the Federal Government has announced plans to employ more health workers and engage with the diaspora community to stem the tide of the so-called “japa syndrome”.
According to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the government is committed to improving the health sector by providing better infrastructure and working conditions for health workers.
The minister disclosed this on Friday during his tour of the FG health facilities in Ogun State.
This move is aimed at reducing the brain drain in the health sector, which has seen over 2000 physiotherapists leave the country in the last three years alone.
The Minister noted that the government is keen on creating a conducive work environment for health workers, including providing funding for the health sector and partnering with the private sector to improve healthcare services.
To curb the “japa syndrome”, the government plans to engage with Nigerian health professionals in the diaspora community, encouraging them to return home and contribute to the development of the health sector.
“We are expanding our capacity to train health workers, we are also harvesting the Nigerian health workers in the diaspora – we are having a robust diasporan engagement with Nigerian health workers in the UK, US, and Ireland, they may not be physically present but we can still harvest their contributions to the health sector in Nigeria.
“Mr President has given us a waiver to recruit more health workers than any other sector. These are the mechanisms we are putting in place to make sure that we address the challenges in the health sector”, Salako stated.
The move has been welcomed by stakeholders in the health sector, including the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP), which has been at the forefront of advocating for better working conditions and infrastructure for health workers.
With this development, the government hopes to reverse the trend of health workers leaving the country and improve healthcare services for Nigerians.
