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Abdulrahman Malik, executive secretary of the Kwara State Hospital Management Committee, revealed that there is a serious lack of doctors in the state-owned hospitals.
Speaking at an interstate press conference in the first quarter of 2025, Malik said that due to “Japa” syndrome, doctors also don’t want to be appointed with the state government as the government is ready to recruit them.
He lamented that although 180 to 200 doctors are needed in government services, only 89 of them are available.
He said the number of available doctors for three people who left the service to return was only recently started at the age of 86 after the government introduced new and improved salaries for doctor services.
The hospital board owner said the government has been trying to attract doctors to state services to increase salaries and facilities to encourage them to stay, especially in rural areas where many of them don’t want to go.
He also revealed that the government has introduced a nurse internship program to train nurses, who will replace many nurses who have left their services abroad.
“The massive outflow of health professionals can seriously affect our ability to provide adequate care,” the official said.
“Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq approved an upgrade to our doctor’s salary to match federal compensation to retain the few remaining wages we have.
“The revised salary structure has resulted in returns from three previously resigned doctors, bringing the state’s total salary to 89.
“However, this number still does not reach the 180 to 200 doctors needed to effectively serve the state’s population.
“Currently, the proportion of doctors in Nigeria is estimated to be one doctor to more than 5,000 patients, which is much lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a doctor to 600 patients.”
