This is not a cherry news for Nigerians as it is projected that the country will have a deficit of over 50,000 doctors by 2030.
The Executive Director of Project PINK BLUE, Runcie Chidebe, a cancer organisation engaged in cancer awareness and providing support to people battling with the disease, stated this on Wednesday.
He also revealed that there are less than 90 clinical oncologists (cancer doctors) who provide cancer treatment to over 100,000 cancer patients across the country.
He, therefore, urged the federal government to declare a State of Emergency on health workforce shortage and to increase the level of investment in the health sector.
He said: “In Nigeria, the density of physicians to a patient is 4 doctors per 10,000 patients and 16.1 nurses and midwives per 10,000 patients, which is less than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of 1 doctor to 600 patients and the critical threshold of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 patients.
“It is estimated that Nigeria will approximately need 149,852 doctors and 471,353 nurses by 2030, only 99,120 doctors and 333,494 nurses will be available based on the growth rate. With the above data, by 2030, Nigeria will have a shortage of 50,120 doctors and 137,859 nurses, translating to a 33.45 percent and 29.25 percent gap in doctors’ and nurses’ supply.
“For a population of 201 million, Nigeria has less than 90 clinical oncologists (that is, cancer doctors) who provide cancer treatment to over 100,000 cancer patients across the cancer centres. In our calculation, it means that there is only one cancer doctor to over 1,100 cancer patients in Nigeria.
“As of today, 9 in 10 Nigerian physicians are seeking opportunities abroad. This migration of Nigerian healthcare workers abroad impacts on Nigeria in diverse ways, for instance, the mortality cost of Nigerian physician migration to abroad totals to $3.1billion annually.
“Nigerian government loses at least N3.8million ($9,235) for subsidizing the training of its physicians who eventually leave the country to high-income countries (HICs)/abroad. These HICs save billions of dollars for pulling physicians that they did not train to their countries. In Nigeria, there are 74,543 registered physicians, however, only an estimated 40,000 are practicing in the country for a population of 201 million.”
Also, Dr Adamu Al-Hassan Umar, the President of Nigeria Cancer Society, said: “We support the Upgrade Oncology Programme this year, which could not be more crucial, as the initiative’s efforts to train cancer care professionals shall not only strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to provide quality cancer care but also support the Nigerian government’s efforts towards achieving the National Cancer Control Plan by 2022.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation, Osayi Alile, in his remarks said: “Nigeria remains a major contributor to the cancer burden on the African continent. Over the years, ACT Foundation has supported Project PINK BLUE, whose primary focus is on creating cancer awareness, in the hopes of changing this narrative. These initiatives revealed that individuals seeking treatment after screenings lack access to optimal cancer treatment and care.
“Furthermore, many Nigerian healthcare professionals are unable to afford required cancer treatment training, leading to poor treatment outcomes for many Nigerian cancer patients. Quality cancer treatment requires the best medical professionals that specialize in key cancer treatment areas such as pharma-oncology, chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, palliative and survivorship.”
Gloria Okwu, Breast Cancer Survivor and Programme Coordinator, Project PINK BLUE, said: “In 2018, Nigeria’s Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health launched the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP); 2018 to 2022 with seven priority areas of action, including cancer prevention, diagnosis & treatment with a budget of N97 billion ($308 million).
“To support the Nigerian Government’s National Cancer Control Plan 2018-2022, Project PINK BLUE with support from the U.S. Mission in Nigeria in 2018 initiated Upgrade Oncology, a U. S. – Nigeria Science & Technology Exchange Program.”
Pharm Ramat Masud Alabelewe, Chair, Oncology Pharmacist Practitioners Association of Nigeria (OPPAN), added: “In the area of oncology pharmacy, Nigeria has only 61 pharmacists who specialize in oncology care in over 16 hospitals across Nigeria. Some of the pharmacists have the required knowledge and skills, others require additional training. For this reason, we welcome this intervention as we strongly believe that it would make a remarkable difference in cancer control in Nigeria.”
