Former Director, Human Resources, West African Health Organisation, Professor Kayode Odusote has decried inadequate funding of medical education in the country.

 

Odusote who was guest lecturer at the 10th Annual Faculty Conference/Gathering of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicines, University of Lagos, posited that Nigeria cannot talk of raising standards in medical education and research to international level in this age of nano- technology and cloud computing without adequate funding.

 

In a lecture entitled “Financing Medical Education & Research in Nigeria” Odusote quoted a report by the National Universities Commission, showing a short fall of N1.16 billion in recurrent allocation to Federal Universities andsimilarly in state universities.

 

“The percentage shortfall in 2003 was 24.6 per cent and in 2004, it was 43.5 percent.  For the period 1990 2001, only 58 per cent of the funding recommended by the NUC was released to the universities. With such gross deficit funding of the parent universities, it is certain that medical schools were and are still inadequately funded. NUC report in 2010 also showed that medical education cost $5,130 per student,” he noted.

 

“Public medical schools in Nigeria do not receive adequate funds based on the minimum required to meet criteria for medical education as proposed by the National Universities Commission.”

 

He said gross budgetary underfunding is worsened by legislative directive and absence of specific appropriation for research and extramural sources of research funds.

 

He said in line with the notion that medicine is a public trust, the leadership of medical schools and the medical profession should  be innovative and determined in their search for additional funds.

 

“They should learn from happenings in other parts of the worlds and other sectors and form consortiums to advocate with government for appropriate changes in legislature and policy”