Prof. Emem Bassey, Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors/Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, has expressed concern over the healthcare sector's ongoing manpower crisis in Nigeria. He highlighted that professionals are leaving the country in large numbers, seeking better opportunities in nations such as Sierra Leone and Gambia, where they can earn between $3000 and $4000. Speaking before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating employment racketeering in Federal Government agencies, Bassey, also the CMD of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, emphasized that other African countries are actively recruiting Nigerian medical doctors and health professionals due to their scarcity in the domestic market.
Bassey noted that a range of healthcare experts, including doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, and radiographers, are emigrating to these countries. He revealed that the appeal of significantly higher wages, three to four times more than what they earn in Nigeria, is drawing them abroad. The mass exodus poses a critical challenge in the healthcare sector, as the replacement of departed professionals remains difficult. Despite being granted recruitment approvals, the bureaucratic process for obtaining necessary waivers remains burdensome, further complicating the task of replenishing the workforce
