Labour Minister, Chris Ngige Swallows Own Words On 'Surplus Doctors', Claims He Was Misquoted.

Labour Minister, Chris Ngige Swallows Own Words On 'Surplus Doctors', Claims He Was Misquoted

Chris Ngige has reversed his comment that Nigeria has ‘surplus doctors’ and he was, thus, not worried about Nigerian doctors leaving the country to go practice in other climes.

After public condemnation, the labour minister alluded to Nigeria falling short of the World Health Organisation’s benchmark ratio of one doctor to six hundred patients, saying he was misquoted.

He however maintained that every other thing he said was an “existential reality, useful and constructive fact.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Mr Ngige had said Nigeria has more than enough doctors to cater for its health needs and can even export.

The comment drew rage from many Nigerians, especially medical professionals who have been struggling to tackle the challenge of ‘brain drain’ in the health industry.

“No, I am not worried… we have a surplus… “If you have a surplus, you export…”, Mr Ngige had said while responding to a question regarding Nigerian doctors who wished to relocate their practice abroad.

He did not provide any evidence to back his claim. While Nigerians on social media questioned the minister’s understanding of the health sector, experts said the minister spoke from a position of ignorance and a “politician that doesn’t understand what is going on.” Investigations showed that Nigeria had over 39,000 registered medical doctors in 2017 according to official data from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

This implies that with an estimated population of 193 million as of 2016, Nigeria had one medical doctor to about 4,845 citizens, less than 20 per cent of the WHO recommendation.


The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the minister rephrased his position on the issue in a statement Thursday signed by Nwachukwu Obidiwe, his Special Assistant on Media.

“…Apart from Nigeria’s non-compliance with the World Health Organisation’s ratio of one doctor to six hundred patients of which I was misquoted.

“Every other thing I said in that interview is an existential reality, useful and constructive facts which every Nigerian that watched the full interview will testify to the Dispute.


Comments

Post a Comment

Drop your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

Football heroes of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

Image
Football heroes of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris While there were expectations that Lionel Messi would play for Argentina, Kylian Mbappe chose to compete in his home city's Olympics this year. However, the men's football competition at the Paris Games will not feature many big-name players. Being the most well-known athlete in the nation hosting the Games this year, Mbappe's inclusion in coach Thierry Henry's Olympic team would have greatly aided the organizing committee and increased the team's chances of taking home the gold. Olympic 2024 Mbappe, 25, played for the French team that advanced to the Euro 2024 semifinals in Germany, but he had to accept that his new team, Real Madrid, would not permit him to play right away. The issue with the men's football competition is that it starts on Wednesday and ends on August 9. For international football, clubs are not required to release players for a tournament that takes place outside of the regular FIFA window,...
Read more

Apple Nutrition

Image
A typical apple fruit Diagnosing and Avoiding Nutrient Deficiencies. Visual Assessment Nutrient deficiencies or excesses usually cause symptoms that are fairly indicative of problems with specific nutrients. Some nutrient disorders can be diagnosed by inspecting plants if you are familiar with symptoms.  Unfortunately, incorrect diagnoses are common because the "classic" symptoms for deficiencies or excesses of some elements are similar and symptoms may vary in the field. Diagnoses are further complicated when crops are deficient in more than one element at the same time.  A limitation of managing apple nutrition based on symptoms and plant tree appearance is that symptoms indicate a problem already exists -- reductions in growth, yield or fruit quality may have already occurred. The goal in fertilizing is to avoid nutritional problems.  Symptoms of the nutrient disorders commonly seen in Michigan fruit plantings are described below. Generally, N and K shortages are com...
Read more