Japa: FG increases enrollment at medical and nursing schools from 28,000 to 64,000

The enrollment cap in medical, nursing, and other health professional schools has been raised from 28,000 to 64,000 every year, according to a statement made on Friday by Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.

Prof. Pate made this statement during the press conference held by sectoral ministers to commemorate President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office in Abuja.

Health professionals in the nation have traditionally emigrated to practice abroad over the years, but analysts find the recent spike in departure concerning.

The push factors, according to experts, were low pay scales, bad working conditions, growing levels of insecurity, and inadequate equipment.

According to data from the Nigerian Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association, between 2019 and 2023, roughly 1,056 consultants departed the nation in search of better opportunities abroad.

More than 900 members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors departed for Europe between January and September of 2023, the organization further disclosed.

Pate, however, said, “We have doubled the intake, the enrollment, the quotas of medical schools, nursing schools, and other health professionals’ schools from an enrollment target of 28,000 a year to 64,000 now.

“That is just the first step, the education sector will have to play its role. The states will have to play in to improve the infrastructure, the training, and the tools to produce more healthcare workforce because we need to produce more healthcare workforce given that we’re losing some so that we can serve the population of this country.”

The minister stated that at least 1,400 Primary Health Care Centers are now able to supply qualified birth attendants.

He claims that over 2,400 medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, and midwives, have been hired by facilities to offer Nigerians living in rural areas critical medical care.

Additionally, he emphasized that the National Primary Health Care Development Agency ,National Health Insurance Authority and the Federal Government had distributed the first N25 billion tranche of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

“We put a condition that states that will access those have to comply with the fiduciary guidelines that have been provided, responding to lapses that have been observed over here so that the resources go to Nigerians.

“Twenty-three states have received those funds, and I believe that the rest of the states are just about to complete and receive their financing to channel through the PHCs.”

In October 2023, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, declared that the government had implemented plans to boost the number of people admitted to medical and dental facilities.

The 3,000 doctors that Nigeria produces each year, according to Dr. Alausa, are insufficient.

He emphasized that improving the healthcare environment will deter the large exodus of licensed physicians and other health professionals to more developed nations.