Facts emerged Monday in Abuja that Nigeria has only 35, 000 practising medical doctors out of the registered 72,000.
The ridiculous number of practising medical doctors in a country of about 200 million and other challenges bedeviling the health sector has perpetually made maternal and pre- natal mortality remained high.
Lamentations to these effects were made by senators and some stakeholders in the health sector during public hearing session on bills seeking for establishments of health related Institutions, Council and Development Fund organised by the Senate Committee on Health.
Specifically, the sponsor of the bill seeking for establishment of Federal University of Health Sciences in Otukpo Benue state, Senator Abba Moro (PDP Benue South), said the university was very necessary in joining other ones across the country for training of medical doctors whose number in the country presently is abysmally low compared to large population seeking for healthcare services.
“From available statistics, we have 72,000 registered medical doctors in Nigeria and out of this, only 35, 000 are practicing.
“The implication is that only that number is superintending over the health of over 200m Nigerians.
“This is ridiculous for a country in the 21st century. It is scary. By 2017 JAMB came declared that of all the Nigerian children that applied for medicine and other allied programs, they could only admit 20%, meaning that 80% of Nigerians waiting to read medicine were left out because they don’t have space.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC Kwara Central) appealed for synergy among all health practitioners as no single profession in the sector can do it alone.