The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, revealed the Federal Government’s intention to send medical personnel abroad for specialized training in an effort to curb medical tourism and promote research. Dr Alausa shared this plan during an event in Lagos where Dr Peter Ebeigbe was inaugurated as the 23rd President of a medical college.
The Federal Ministry of Health is collaborating with the National Postgraduate Medical College in Lagos to implement this initiative. Dr Alausa emphasized the need for innovative approaches to address challenges in the health sector, indicating that new curricula are being developed.
He outlined the diverse sub-specialties being introduced, including interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology, interventional radiology, pain medicine, critical care medicine, hospice and palliative medicine, robotic surgery, surgical oncology, and transplant surgery. The aim is to enhance the ability to treat Nigerians locally, reduce medical tourism, and foster research.
The Minister stated that the Federal Ministry of Health is establishing mechanisms to fund the training abroad for selected candidates, who will be required to serve a bond upon completion. The specialized training will cover solid organ transplant, focusing on kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplants.
During the inauguration, Dr Peter Ebeigbe expressed concerns about the economic challenges faced by medical professionals in Nigeria, comparing their earnings unfavorably to counterparts in the Middle East. He highlighted the economic reasons leading medical professionals to migrate abroad and called for urgent economic intervention to address the situation. Dr Ebeigbe stressed the need for economic measures to prevent a collapse of the health system and alleviate the severity of the brain drain affecting the medical community in Nigeria.
