Nigeria’s health minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire on Thursday, October 24, revealed that the federal government would soon start employing the services of medical experts from Europe and America.
The minister stated this during the 2020 budget defence session, adding that it would strengthen Nigeria’s health sector and curb medical tourism.
He said officials of the health ministry were already in touch with foreign embassies for specialists who would work in hospitals across the country for specified periods.
Ehanire said the experts, already exposed to sophisticated practice in the advanced world, would not only attend to the health needs of Nigerians but also use the opportunity to share expertise with their local counterparts.
According to him, indigenous consultants and surgeons would also spend some time abroad and come back to contribute to the improvement of the Nigerian healthcare system.
Responding to the minister’s proposal, president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Francis Adedayo Faduyile, faulted the plan, saying no doctor in the diaspora work under the present circumstances in Nigeria
A former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo, said the plan is unfortunate and ill-advised.
