Th e Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that Nigeria will need approximately 149,852 doctors and 471,353 nurses by the year 2030. He said with the available growth rate of Doctors and Nurses, by this same period only 99,120 doctors and 333,494 nurses will be available, adding that this implies a shortage of about 50,120 doctors and 137,859 nurses. According to him, this translates to 33.45 per cent gap in doctors’ supply and 29.25 per cent gap in nurses’ supply, adding that this shortfall will make the country health system vulnerable if there is no urgent and concrete plan to address the situation. Prof. Adewole, who disclosed this at the commemoration of the 2017
International Day of Midwife (IDM), organised by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), said this was derived from a projection estimates from scientifi c modelling by Adebayo et al in 2016. Th e minister noted that apart from the shortage, health workers are poorly distributed in favour of urban, southern, tertiary health care services delivery, and curative care.
He said: “For some cadres of health workers more than 50% work in the South Western part of the country with the majority living in the commercial city of Lagos. “Eff orts have been made to make health workers available in the rural areas. About 60% of the states in Nigeria, provide rural incentives to health workers that volunteer to serve in the rural areas, while others make rural service a condition for some critical promotion.
“Th ere is the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), that is mandatory for all new university and polytechnic graduates in Nigeria. Th e introduction of national service for freshly graduated midwives will address some of the shortages of human resource in the country. “I want to use this opportunity to appreciate the eff orts of our numerous development partners especially UNFPA in strengthening the midwifery workforce over the years. Th is singular eff ort has led to increase in the number of accredited schools of midwifery in Nigeria.
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all our PHCs will be led by a qualifi ed midwife to off er a safe, effi cient and professional maternity care.” Th e minister further stated that the theme of this year’s IDM: ‘Strengthening Midwifery Pre-service Training in Nigeria’, is strategic as it fi ts into the current Federal Government Agenda of upgrading the standard of midwifery practice in the country in area of curriculum review, appropriate skill development and upgrade of the various training institutions. In his speech, the Executive Director, Th e United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), presented by Deputy Representative, Dr Eugene Kongnyuy, said many women lack access to healthcare these services, adding that in Nigeria, more than 83,000 women die during pregnancy and child birth.
He said : “Most of them would have been saved by well-trained midwives within the framework of strong health care services. “Th e returns on investing in human resources with midwifery skills are enormous. According to the State of the World Midwifery Report, midwives who are educated and regulated into national standards can provide 87 percent of essential aids needed by women and newborns, and can potentially reduce maternal and newborn mortality by two/thirds.
“Preventing maternal and newborn deaths and disabilities, empowering women make informed choices and exercise their rights is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. “To make this happen, we need to expand midwifery programme, maintain the highest global standard, and promote enabling environment for midwives to eff ectively meet the needs of women and their families. “Today, UNFPA renews its commitment to supporting the government of Nigeria and development partners to promote the work of midwives so that more women survive and their families and communities thrive.”
