85% doctors planning to leave Nigeria for greener pastures - NARD – Newstrends
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85% doctors planning to leave Nigeria for greener pastures – NARD

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At least 85 per cent of Nigerian doctors are planning to leave the country to seek greener pastures, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

This is according to the data obtained from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors.

The report also showed that the preferred countries for immigration intentions are the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The NARD members are of House Officers, Registrars, Senior Registrars, and Medical Officers below the level of Principal Medical Officers.

Speaking with our correspondent, the President of the association, Dr Emeka, said if the government did not take steps to address the ongoing brain drain in the country, the situation will get worse in the health sector.

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“When we are saying these things, it looks as if it’s a joke. Mobility of labour is acceptable anywhere and what the government should do is to address the root causes of the immigration of doctors, as long as they don’t address it, when they see better opportunities out there, they will want to go there.

“It’s about the choices people make about themselves when they think that the government is not taking care of them. The government needs to improve on the things we have highlighted to reduce the brain drain,” he said.

He noted that as of October 2022, there were only 10,000 resident doctors in the country.

“Five months after, and we don’t have any reason to suggest that there is a downward scale of doctors migrating, if anything should be, it should be an increment in the immigration because nothing essentially has changed in terms of the working condition, infrastructure, security and all that,” he added.

Going by this figure, it means that 8,500 resident doctors plan to leave the country.

The 2023 macroeconomic outlook report released by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group recently said that aside from the considerable health infrastructural gap, Nigeria has lost many medical professionals to brain drain, leading to personnel inadequacy in the health sector.

The report said, “One of the major factors inhibiting Nigeria’s economic development has been the brain drain and knowledge gap in human capital. Knowledge as a significant driver of economies of scale can be increased by investing in education and providing better health services, which is the nation’s human capital formation.

“An equipped labour force, a stable economic environment, a thriving private sector, and robust social welfare programmes are crucial in attaining Shared Prosperity in Nigeria.”

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OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community

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From left: House of Reps member, Prince Akeem Adeyemi; Nura Ali Rano, Representing OSSAP-SDGs; Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu; Senator Yunus Akintunde, and Oyo APC Chairman, Alhaji Moshood Abass, during the cutting of the tape to inaugurate the health centre

OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community 

The Office of Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals has inaugurated a 20-bed primary health centre and renovated the existing primary health facility at Isokun in the Oyo West area of Oyo State.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, at a brief handover ceremony, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and dedication to collaborating with sub-national governments to deliver crucial interventions and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria.

Represented by Nura Ali Rano at the event, Orelope-Adefulire stressed the importance of the SDGs as a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030.

She also spoke on the need to prioritize interventions with significant impact on multidimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare, vocational skills development and education, in alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

She said strategic projects such as the Mother and Child Centre had become essential given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oyo Central Senator, Dr Yunus Akintunde, who facilitated the project, expressed his gratitude to President Tinubu and OSSAP-SDGs for selecting his constituency for the significant project.

He described the primary health centre as the biggest in Oyo State while emphasising the state’s commitment to fully utilising the facility, as part of a broader plan to of mitigation that will reduce the need for residents to seek medical treatment outside the constituency.

Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu commended OSSAP-SDGs for the good job and bringing such a world-class facility to the Oyo central constituency.

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Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk

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Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk

Using mobiles and laptops may increase the risk of dementia, a physiotherapist has warned.

Dr Solomon Abrahams, a lecturer at the Imperial College of Medicine and University College London, says everyone is guilty of the habit.

His analysis suggests that the posture people adopt while using their devices can reduce blood flow to the brain, which leads to cognitive decline.

Research has previously shown that more time spent on cognitively passive behaviours — like watching TV — leads to an increased risk of dementia, regardless of physical activity levels. However, cognitively active passive activities — like using the computer — were associated with a lower dementia risk.

Abrahams who has reviewed research on the subject says ’emerging evidence and clinical trials have indicated the potential consequences for cognitive and neurological health’.

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“The persistent pressure on the arteries by holding your head in a forward position, as many people do when looking at their phones, can lead to a chronic reduction in the diameter of those arteries, potentially reducing the amount of blood which can reach the brain.

“Any restriction in these blood vessels may cause a decrease in blood flow to the brain, resulting in various brain-related diseases.”

According to Abrahams, Alzheimer’s disease is going to become more prevalent as the population ages, but his research points to daily habits of poor posture from staring down at our phones as a potential cause of an increase in cases.”

In his advice, he said “Hold your phone somewhere where you don’t need to bend forward. Take a positive step in your spine and brain health by using your phone when you can keep your neck in its natural alignment, and when you use a laptop, adjust your working environment to support a healthy posture.”

Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk

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Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough

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Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough

The first two Sickle Cell Disease patients admitted to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria/Lagos University Teaching Hospital, SCFN/LUTH, Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Lagos, have been discharged and are under observation.

The patients, one paediatric and one adult, successfully underwent the first-of-its-kind Bone Marrow Transplant, BMT,  in Nigeria and West Africa, heralding a groundbreaking achievement for Nigerian healthcare.

The feat was achieved at the state-of-the-art Centre following weeks of meticulous care and preparation, including chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and bone marrow stem cells harvested from family donors, then infused into the patients.

With this achievement, the SCFN in partnership with LUTH is the first non-profit organisation in Africa to lead a comprehensive bone marrow transplant initiative for sickle cell disorder.

The milestone marks a significant step forward in the treatment of sickle cell disease and other blood disorders and positions Nigeria as a hub in West Africa for advanced medical care particularly in hematology-oncology.

The Centre, equipped with advanced technology and staffed by highly skilled medical professionals, provides a comprehensive range of services for patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, even as no less than 127 potentially qualified patients are lined up to undergo the procedure.

The achievement is particularly significant for Nigeria, which has one of the highest burdens of SCD globally. Before the establishment of the center, Nigerian patients seeking bone marrow transplants had no option but to seek treatment abroad, often incurring significant costs and facing challenges related to access and affordability.

One of the mothers of the discharged patients said, “Our Bone Marrow Transplant experience has been remarkable, filled with hope and certainty. I felt confident in the exceptional care we received at the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria/LUTH BMT Centre. From the moment of admission to discharge, the medical staff provided round-the-clock attention,” said the mother of one of the discharged patients.

In the views of the Chairman, Board of Directors. Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Chief Tunde Afolabi, SCFN’s journey is far from over.

Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough

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