The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has raised concerns over the dwindling number of medical consultants in the country, warning that only 6,000 remain in service.
Speaking at the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Ilorin on Thursday, MDCAN President, Professor Muhammad Mohammad, revealed that around 1,300 consultants have left Nigeria in the last five years due to the ongoing “Japa” wave. He noted that this exodus, combined with the retirement of aging consultants, is leaving Nigeria’s healthcare sector in a precarious position.
“With the retirement age for medical consultants set at 60 years, about 1,700 consultants currently above 55 years will exit the workforce in the next five years,” Mohammad stated. He lamented that Nigeria is producing only one or two medical consultants annually, making it difficult to replace those who leave.
To mitigate the crisis, MDCAN has called on the government to extend the retirement age of consultants to 70 years and other healthcare workers to 65 years. The association also urged authorities to place medical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to address wage disparities.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, stressed the importance of effective policymaking in ensuring quality healthcare delivery. Meanwhile, guest speaker Dr. Amos Magaji, a lawmaker representing Zangon Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency, emphasized that policies such as the National Health Insurance Authority can help improve healthcare accessibility for Nigerians.
As Nigeria grapples with the worsening brain drain in the medical sector, experts at the MDCAN meeting urged immediate government intervention to prevent further deterioration of the country’s healthcare system.
