The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has proposed a solution to the “japa syndrome” affecting the health sector, suggesting an increase in the retirement age of health workers.
According to Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu, First Vice-President of the NMA, increasing the retirement age from 60 to 65 will address the brain drain in the health sector.Olowojebutu made this known during a courtesy visit to Rep. Wale Ahmed (APC-Lagos) to express appreciation for sponsoring a bill to increase the retirement age of health workers.
The bill, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Make Provisions for the Retirement Age Increment for Health Workers in Nigeria and for Related Matters’, aims to increase the retirement age and maximum pensionable years of service for health workers.
Dr. Olowojebutu appealed to the House leadership to expedite the passage of the bill, emphasizing its potential to improve healthcare delivery and support the livelihood of medical doctors.
“We are here to say a big ‘thank you’ to our colleague and member of the House of Reps, Wale Ahmed, for championing this important bill in the quest for quality healthcare delivery in this country.
“One of the things we have realised is that lots of our doctors have experience, and when they exit after retirement, those that replace them are younger colleagues that still need experience.
“So one of the things to do is to increase their age so that there are more experiences for those younger doctors to learn from when they retire.
“So we’re glad that we’ve come to see him today, and he has shown a lot more commitment to expedite the bill to become law in this country. And I can assure you, it will boost the morale of doctors in this country,” he said.
He noted that the bill would also support the passion and dedication of medical doctors who have served Nigeria for a long time.Dr. Mohammed Mohammed, President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, also endorsed the bill, urging the National Assembly to give it the same level of urgency as the national budget.
“A lot of our friends have left the country, but some of us are still very dogged and passionate about staying in the country because we are patriotic.“We have a lot of passion for the health care of this nation. So we appeal to the leadership of the house to help us expedite this bill,” he said.
Mohammed emphasized that the bill would improve healthcare delivery in the country and touch the lives of the masses from the cradle.
The “japa syndrome” refers to the situation where professionals, particularly in the health sector, leave the country in search of better opportunities.
Source: https://pulse.ng
