The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has appealed to the federal government to compensate doctors and other health professionals with a living wage, arguing that the present minimum wage is unsustainable in the context of Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis.
Speaking to its 14th Biennial Delegates’ Meeting and Scientific Conference in Enugu, under the theme of “Otanisi Psychosis: The Mental Health Implications of the Waning Socioeconomic Well-being of Nigerians,” MDCAN national president, Prof. Muhammed A. Mohammed, cited the poor condition of the economy as responsible for the mass exodus of medical personnel abroad, popularly referred to as japa.
He linked the migration trend with inadequate pay, insecurity, and decline in the health infrastructure, setting the warning that unless doctors are paid a living income, Nigeria risks further failure in healthcare delivery.”This is not about consultants or doctors, but all health workers. Remuneration and welfare are crucial. Better pay would not only keep those who are here, but could even bring those outside back,” Mohammed said.
On behalf of the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Medical and Allied Health Sciences, Enugu, had made the announcement that the government was determined to double the admission slots in medical schools to end the shortage of personnel, but not at the expense of quality.
Others, including the UNTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Obinna Onodugo, and MDCAN vice president Prof. Apollos Chidi Ndukuba, emphasized the urgent necessity of bridging infrastructural decadence, welfare deprivations, and psychological effects of Nigeria’s economic crisis, likening present-day hardships to the austerity of the 1980s.
Traditional leaders like Igwe F.O. Nwatu of Ihuokpara also commended MDCAN’s free medical outreach, calling it “massively unprecedented.”
The association reaffirmed that addressing welfare, infrastructure, and security matters is critical not only in their efforts at retaining health workers but also in the protection of the welfare of all Nigerians.
