Why are medical professionals leaving Nigeria?
Doctors and nurses are leaving Nigeria in large numbers. A lack of medical staff has long been a problem, and it's getting worse. DW spoke with some of those who are considering leaving to find out what's motivating their decisions.
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00:00 Getting medical care in Nigeria can be frustrating for everyone.
00:05 Kenneth Odofia is doing the job he dreamed of.
00:09 But two years after qualifying, his thoughts are abroad,
00:13 where he hopes things will be better.
00:16 When you see the standard of life you are having,
00:19 you cannot equally comfort yourself.
00:20 Yes, fine, at least I know I'm actually working.
00:22 I'm giving out to society.
00:23 But society actually appreciates my effort
00:26 and are paying me back.
00:27 I'm being rewarded.
00:29 The feeling that many medical professionals have
00:32 of being overworked and under-rewarded
00:35 is one of the things driving them to leave in large numbers.
00:39 They say they want a system that not only pays them well,
00:43 but also provides the right equipment.
00:46 Esosa comes from a family of nurses and doctors.
00:50 Many of them live and work abroad.
00:53 And she's planning to leave too.
00:55 I heard Australia pays very well.
00:58 I think Australia and the US,
01:00 somebody was saying something like that.
01:02 Crowding gets worse as health professionals leave.
01:06 Yet most people seem to understand why they go.
01:10 I wouldn't blame the healthcare people also.
01:12 We are all dissatisfied.
01:15 No matter where we are working, we are all feeling bad.
01:17 And if you are not OK personally,
01:20 I wonder what service you want to render to other people.
01:22 For me, I'm a pharmacist.
01:24 And yes, getting to attend to so many patients at the time,
01:27 it's not cool at all.
01:30 You don't really give your best.
01:31 So you just try to do as much as you can.
01:34 But at the end of the day, it's not efficient.
01:36 It's not enough.
01:36 If you are given an enabling environment to practice,
01:41 nobody would want to leave the shores of this country
01:44 to travel abroad.
01:45 Even people that are not doctors, they are leaving.
01:48 They are leaving the country.
01:50 It's as if we don't have hope.
01:52 Hope is hard to come by, even in private hospitals like this.
01:57 They simply can't keep their staff.
01:59 Dr. Tunde Oyedeji runs this hospital.
02:03 He's 63 and says he'd like to work less,
02:07 but that a lack of staff means his days remain long.
02:12 It has been very, very tough getting health personnel,
02:14 both the nurses and the doctors.
02:18 And even when you get them, you know,
02:21 when you train them for a few months, they are gone.
02:27 He says the future looks bleak for young medics in Nigeria.
02:31 I can't even say they should come and stay here.
02:34 It is better for them to go out because of the situation
02:38 of the country.
02:39 But that should not be the case.
02:41 That even applies to two of his own children who are doctors,
02:45 but rather than taking over from him, are working in Europe.