President Bola Tinubu is worried over the mass exodus of health workers in the country in search of greener pastures, his Special Adviser on Public Health Matters, Salma Anas, said.
Anas stated this at the 2023 annual conference of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists in Abuja, themed ‘Universal Health Coverage: The Medical Laboratory Priority in Nigeria.’
According to Anas, the president is working towards improving Nigeria’s health sector.
She said, “President Bola Tinubu is worried about the ‘japa syndrome’ that we inherited from previous administrations for obvious reasons.
“Part of our commitment is that we want to reverse that ugly trend and ensure that we sustain and retain our medical experts within the country through several interventions and measures.
“Part of the efforts is the motivation of our health sector workers within Nigeria, not only through regular payment of salaries and allowances but also in terms of the provision of a conducive working environment. We will do this through the provision of state-of-the-art medical facilities at all levels, especially the primary level of healthcare.”
She added that the government is striving to produce more health workers in all fields.
Also speaking, the National President of the Association of Medical Laboratories of Nigeria, Bassey Bassey, explained efforts being made to stop quackery in the health sector.
The association said the body, in collaboration with other partners, has shut down many unregistered laboratories to reduce wrong diagnoses and other illegal activities in the country.
The laboratory scientists noted that plans are underway to begin the process of manufacturing equipment and other essential medical items in Nigeria.
