The Federal Government has said it was renewing its focus to stop medical tourism by reducing the outflow of Nigerian patients and doctors to facilities outside the country. The government also reiterated its commitment to “tackle brain drain and medical tourism.”

 

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Abdullahi Mashi, stated this during the 37th convocation and 14th Annual Scientific Conference and All Fellows meeting of National Postgraduate Medical College with the theme: “50 years of Postgraduate medical education in Nigeria: Achievements, challenges and prospects.”

 

He said, “Nigeria loses billions (of Naira) to medical tourism each year and we have renewed our focus to stop the exodus of doctors and patients out of the country.” The theme of the 50th anniversary considered the challenges and prospects of postgraduate medical education in Nigeria since half a century after the college was conceived.

 

The minister said decisions from the conference “will be made available to government to assist decisions. Your graduates are in high demand all over the world. Our dream towards achieving Universal Health Coverage cannot be complete without you.”

 

Delivering his lecture, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Port Harcourt,  Nimi Briggs, said government “has to find a way of stemming brain drain.”