The Lagos State Government has revealed that three hospitals, located in Ojo, Lagos Island, and Ketu-Ejirin, will be commissioned in the next twelve months as part of efforts to halt the brain drain among doctors and the japa syndrome.
With over 33,000 doctors needed in the state, the Commissioner for Health Services, Prof. Akin Abayomi, noted that the state is left with 7,000 doctors to serve a population of 20 million people, which is below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended patient ratio of 1:200.
During a chat with newsmen while marking Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second year of his second term in office at Alausa, Ikeja, Prof. Abayomi stated that over 16,000 doctors have left in search of greener pastures over the years.
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“We are planning strategically to address brain drain and increase brain gain. We have improved flow of funds into the health sector,” he said.
In addition, he revealed that the country lacks about 300,000 doctors. Following the data shared by the federal government, nothing less than 16,000 doctors have relocated from the country to earn a living.
To tackle this challenge, Abayomi acknowledged that the state government is working hard to provide health initiatives to bridge the gap, as it has over 18,000 staff across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities.
To mitigate the gap, he said, “We have seen diasporas coming to Lagos either permanently or coming and going. A lot of them are keying into our healthcare initiative. They have seen Lagos as the next frontier in meeting our target.”
To avoid health complications, he encouraged Lagosians to visit the hospital to run tests when they notice any symptoms, highlighting that not all fevers are symptoms of malaria.
Targeting to eliminate malaria within the next one or two years, he said, “99 cases of fever are not malaria, so people should carry out tests and get doctor’s prescription before buying drugs.”
While disclosing that the largest cancer health facility in West Africa is located in Alausa, he emphasized that as the state considers tomography, it aims to build climate-resilient facilities.
“Many parts of Lagos are densely populated, so the facilities are heavily built with concrete and others are built on sandfill.”
