The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has raised concerns over the dwindling number of medical consultants in the country, revealing that only 6,000 remain as of February 2024.
The association’s president, Prof. Muhammad Mohammad, disclosed this during the National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting in Ilorin, which focused on “Policy Making for Quality Healthcare Services: Engaging Policy Makers for Quality Healthcare Delivery.”
Prof. Mohammad lamented that approximately 1,300 consultants have left Nigeria in the past five years, a trend exacerbated by the “Japa” syndrome and the country’s retirement policies.
“About 1,700 consultants are above 55 years of age,” he explained. “This means that in the next five years, they are going to leave the services for retirement.”
He warned that the current production rate of medical consultants—just one or two annually—cannot keep pace with the losses.
Commending government efforts to address the situation, Mohammad expressed optimism about a proposed policy allowing consultants to serve until age 70, while other healthcare professionals could work until age 65.
“This will ensure that those who remain in the country continue to contribute their expertise to the healthcare sector,” he said.
He also called on the government to address salary disparities by placing medical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to improve their working conditions.
“We also want to have an environment where we can practice and deliver the best quality healthcare in Nigeria,” he added.
In her remarks, Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, emphasized the importance of effective policies tailored to the nation’s unique needs to improve healthcare delivery.
“Policies must be targeted toward the right segments, domesticated to state or national peculiarities, and effectively disseminated to end users,” she noted.