By Doris Obinna
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has decried what it termed the mass exodus of pharmacists worrisome as about 5,208 have left the country in the last five years in search of greener pastures outside the county, and there is now a ratio of one pharmacist to over 14,000 Nigerians.
According to the body, the World Health Organisation-recommended ratio of healthcare workers to the population is 23 to 1,000 but in Nigeria it is an abysmal 1.95 to 1,000 as the statistics of emigration of pharmacists from Nigeria worsens.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Lagos, the president of PSN, Prof. Cyril Odianose Usifoh, disclosed that 23 to 1,000 is for the entire health workforce.
“When expressed in terms of the pharmacists’ component, there are 0.07 pharmacists to 1000 or one pharmacist to over 14,000 Nigerians. The WHO acceptable and recommended ratio of pharmacists to the population is one pharmacist to 2000 of the population.
“Meanwhile, only 803 pharmacists collected letters of good standing from the Council in 2021, while 5,208 that left the shores, especially many young Nigerians for the ‘proverbial green pastures’ are spread all over the world; Canada, UK and the United States, just like their counterparts in other health fields.”
“It is against this backdrop that we announcing the 95th Annual National Conference of the PSN holding in Jos in a few days, Usifoh noted that the significance of the whole conference is pertinent at this stage of our national lives.
“The National Scientific Conference Tagged Tin City 2022 will commence on the 31st of October 31 to November 4, 2022 with theme, ‘Medicine Security in an Unstable Economy.”
While reiterating causes of brain drain as; poor healthcare funding with the gap standing at close to USD 200 billion, he said, “distribution of health workforce with more patronage of tertiary compared to primary health institutions causing personnel at the tertiary institutions to be overworked. Over 60 per cent of their clientele is composed of people with minor issues the primary level could have solved.
“Also global shortage of healthcare workers with the attendant migration to high income countries; remuneration and welfare issues and contentious healthcare leadership and governance in a multidisciplinary system are factors responsible for the mass exodus in the health sector.”
Usifoh while explaining possible solutions government can attempt to address causes of brain drain in the country said Nigeria currently contributes a great number of healthcare workers to the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and other high-income countries. “This is both a blessing and a curse.”
He said: “Improved healthcare funding and fairness in financing, career progression and meaningful engagement for all healthcare workers, respect, teamwork, and a health system governance that is fair to all categories of healthcare workers, recognition and remuneration for practice specialization, etc, are possible solutions government can look into.
Calling on the federal government to look into the welfare of public service and stagnation of harmacists, Usifoh stated that welfare of public sector pharmacists should be utmost important but instead, pharmacists who work assiduously to ensure the teaming population of the patients are pharmaceutically cared for are being marginalised in the health sector.
“It is worthy of note that hundreds of pharmacists have left the public service in search of better opportunities outside the shores of our nation. This in addition to the retirement of pharmacists from the public sector has led to depletion of the workforce in the department of pharmaceutical services in our various institutions.
“We hereby request for the replacement of pharmacists who have either left the shores of the country for greener pastures or retired from the service of the nation without delay.
“It is saddening that most pharmacists in the public sector are not allowed to reach level 17 which is the peak of their career. This non advancement to the zenith of their careers has led to incessant dampening of morale of public sector Pharmacists.
We request for the promotion of Pharmacists to level 17 as it is being done to other professionals in the public service across board.”
“Also, the current scheme of service for pharmacists came into existence in 2005 and is long overdue for review. We request for the immediate review of the scheme of service for Pharmacists. This new scheme of service is expected to incorporate the enhanced entry point and enhanced call duty allowance for Pharm. D holders and the approved Consultancy Cadre for pharmacists as well as implementation of the Pharmacists’ Consultancy Cadre.”