According to Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, the nation has an adequate number of doctors.
On Tuesday, August 23, the Minister made this statement at a press conference in Abuja. He made this statement while denying rumors that there was a ban on hiring medical professionals in the nation.
“There is no embargo on employing doctors; where there is a need, we do. But, because there is a civil service regulation, there are processes before doctors are employed.
We have heard complaints of doctors who are now leaving the system but there are actually enough doctors in the system because we are producing up to 2,000 or 3,000 doctors every year in the country, and the number leaving is less than 1,000.
It is just that the employment process needs to be smoothened.”
Ehanire said the ministry was working with the office of the head of the civil service to use the ‘one-for-one’ employment strategy so that if one doctor or nurse resigns to go abroad another one is employed.