By Hassan Zaggi
Concerned by the migration of doctors, nurses and other medical workers to other countries for greener pasture, the Federal Government is making plans to come up with a policy to ensure that each doctor or nurse that leaves to the country will be replaced immediately.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Monday, describing the plan as ‘one to replace one’.
He explained that Nigeria does not have shortage of doctors and other health workers because, according to him, many doctors and other health workers graduate every year from Nigerian universities.
“I have heard the complaints the doctors are leaving the system. But actually we have enough doctors in the country because we are producing a good number doctors every year. Just that the recruitment process needs to be smoothen.
“We are working with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service to have what we call one for one replacement. If one doctor resigns today, we employ one doctor. If its one nurse, we replace with one nurse. So, if we adopt it, we are not likely to have shortage.
“So, we are trying to have one for one policy to reduce to shortage of doctors in our hospital,” the Minister further explained.
Speaking, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ifedayo Adetifa, has said that there are no shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, but rather, there are shortage of arms to uptake the vaccine.
He, therefore, advised Nigerians to rush and get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine which, according to him, is readily available at all designated centres and hospitals in all nooks and crannies of the country.
“Vaccines are available but there are shortage of arms to receive them not vaccine doses. Please tell people to present their arms so that we can have more uptake of vaccine,” he stressed.
The Director General further warned that COVID-19 is still around, hence, advised Nigerians to apply all protective measures when in an enclosed place with many people.
“More importantly, in order to protect ourselves and protect others, we need to ensure that we take public measures as recommended. Use of face mask, hand hygiene and physical distancing are appropriate,” he said.
He continue that: “We must use face mask in places that are crowded and not well ventilated.”
