The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, has stated that attempts are being undertaken to reduce ongoing nurse emigration abroad, as Nigeria ranks seventh among 57 nations suffering a significant shortage of health personnel.
According to The PUNCH, this was disclosed by the council’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Faruk Abubakar, on Wednesday in Abuja during the 2023 Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Federal Capital Territory chapter.
Abubakar, who was the guest of honour at the event, stated that: “To curtail the situation (nurses emigration), recruitment of more nurses is needed. If the government can provide the necessary facilities, welfare, adequate insurance for the nurses, better working environment, brain drain will be a thing of the past.
“Government should invest more in the training of nurses; the government should take appropriate measures in tackling all the challenges.”
The recently-departed President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, stated that the government needs to consider employees’ wages, particularly in light of the elimination of gasoline subsidies.
The keynote speaker, Mrs. Khadijat-Toyin Musah, interim dean of the University of Abuja’s faculty of nursing and allied health sciences, stated that nursing education needs to be examined in order to close the knowledge-practice gap.
“We must go beyond theories. There is a disconnect between what we learn in school and what we are practising in the field,” she said.
