Posted on: Fri 28-03-2025

 

With a staggering deficit of 30,000 doctors, nurses, and other essential healthcare professionals, Lagos State faces a daunting challenge. This shortage raises crucial questions: How did we get here? What is being done? And will these efforts be enough?

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has pointed to a key factor—the continuous migration of medical professionals abroad. The so-called "brain drain" has left gaping holes in hospitals, clinics, and research institutions, straining an already overburdened system.

A Step in the Right Direction?

In response, the government has outlined a two-pronged strategy aimed at not only producing more medical professionals but ensuring they receive quality education and training.

Expanding Medical Education:
Lagos plans to increase student admissions from 200 to 2,500 annually over the next five years by converting underutilized infrastructure into modern academic facilities. This is an ambitious and necessary move—but will Lagos have the faculty and funding to sustain this rapid expansion?

Quality Training & Accreditation:
It’s not enough to produce more healthcare workers—they must be well-trained and properly accredited. The government recognizes this but must tackle three critical requirements:

Adequate training space

Enough qualified academic instructors

Access to a diverse patient population for hands-on experience

Can Lagos attract and retain the required professionals to teach and mentor these students, especially with many experienced doctors leaving the country?

Infrastructure vs. Retention: The Real Battle?

While expanding medical education is a bold step, will it solve the deeper issue of retention? If newly trained professionals continue to seek better opportunities abroad, will Lagos be able to fill the gaps fast enough to make a lasting impact?

Some suggest that beyond increasing training facilities, there should be stronger incentives to keep healthcare workers in Nigeria—competitive salaries, improved working conditions, and better career growth opportunities.

What Next?

With this initiative now underway, can Lagos successfully implement and sustain it? Will these newly trained professionals stay and serve their communities or follow the same path as their predecessors—seeking greener pastures abroad?

More importantly, what additional policies can ensure that Lagos not only produces more healthcare workers but also retains them for the long term?

The future of healthcare in Lagos depends on the answers to these pressing questions.

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