No fewer than 100 doctors have left Nasarawa State for greener pastures in Saudi Arabia within the last one year.
The revelation was made by the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), during a press briefing to mark the 2022 Physicians week on Tuesday in Lafia.
The chapter chairman, Dr Peter Attah said the mass exodus of medical doctors was a result of the non-implementation of hazard and call duty allowances by the government.
He said the affected doctors were working at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Federal Medical Center (FMC), Keffi and the State Hospital Management Board (HMB), before their exit.
He said although about 550 doctors were licensed to work in the state, the figure has depleted over the last years due to unfavourable working conditions.
He said out of the 30 doctors employed by DASH in 2020, 10 left within just a month, adding that the figure has depleted to about five in 2022.
He said the situation is the same in most secondary and tertiary health institutions across the state.
He noted that the shortage of doctors is exerting a lot of pressure on the remaining manpower and frustrating access to medicare in the state.
He said currently one doctor is taking care of over 20,000 patients contrary to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO)’s established minimum threshold, that a country needs a mix of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 Population to deliver essential maternal and child health services.
He called on the federal government to urgently step in to address the worrisome situation, which he said, is gradually crippling the health sector amid rising maternal and infant mortality rates.
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