A Consultant Dermatologist, Dr Folakemi Cole-Adeife, says Nigeria currently has one qualified dermatology doctor catering to about a million people.
Cole-Adeife of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, gave these statistics in an interview to mark World Skin Day, commemorated every July 8.
World Skin Day, a joint project of the International League of Dermatological Societies and the International Society of Dermatology, aims to create awareness about skin conditions and the challenges with access to skin health care across the globe.
She said that the development had made accessibility and deliverability of dermatological care difficult in the country.
According to her, skin care is essential as the skin is the entry point to the body, and understanding the skin can indicate what may be happening inside the body.
“Every human being deserves access to dermatological care but it is unfortunate that most African countries, Nigeria inclusive, have less dermatologists catering to millions of people.
“In Nigeria today, we have one dermatologist to one million people and some countries are worse.
“So, we need more dermatologists, we need more people to go into dermatology training and we need more medical schools to include dermatology training.
“If you are a medical student who has interest in dermatology, please do not give up, dermatology is a lucrative field.
“Choose dermatology as your specialty to increase access to dermatological care in the country and make global impact with dermatological care,” she said.
Cole-Adeife urged Nigerians to love their skin and skin colour.
“Your skin represents you and be reminded that everybody deserves healthy skin,” she said.
NAN
