Following a recent report by the Federal Ministry of Health, that more than 16,000 doctors have left Nigeria in the last seven years in search of greener pasture in other countries, the federal government has launched a new initiative to bridge the gap created by the departure of the doctors.
Addressing newsmen in Katsina, the Chairman Governing Board of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFund), Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, said the agency has launched a special intervention to train more doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians in higher institutions across the country.
He said already, TETFund has injected over N100 billion into eighteen tertiary institutions to enhance their capacity to train students in medical sciences, through the provision of lecture halls, laboratories and other infrastructural and academic requirements.
Masari said the intervention was a deliberate policy to enable the healthcare system recover from the shocks of the exit of the medical personnel while also boosting manpower in the sector.
He explained that three tertiary institutions were selected in each geopolitical zone of the country as each institution has received N4 billion to carry out projects and procure equipment required to boost its capacity to admit and train students in the field of medical sciences.
Masari noted that the intervention was borne out of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s desire to address the shortage of manpower in the health system which is affecting service delivery in the sector.
“In recent years, many doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians and other skilled medical personnel have left the country in search of greener pasture.
“The President is particularly worried by the trend and how it is affecting the Nigerian healthcare system, he wants to institute measures in place to enable the healthcare system to recover through deliberate policies such as this ongoing intervention by TETFund.
“We have selected three tertiary institutions in each geopolitical zone, each institution has received N4 billion to carry out projects and academic expansion specifically to boost its capacity to admit and train students in the field of medical sciences.
“The aim is to double the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians and other skilled professionals in the health sector, this will no doubt enhance healthcare service delivery in the country”, Masari said.
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