Don Advocates Reforms to Reverse Nigeria’s Healthcare Workforce Crisis
Funmi Ogundare
A Professor of Community Medicine at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Kayode Thadius Ijadunola, yesterday warned that Nigeria’s worsening health workforce crisis now poses a serious threat to the country’s health security and sustainable development, calling for sweeping reforms to avert a collapse of the healthcare system.
Ijadunola gave the warning while delivering the fifth Oladipo Akinkugbe distinguished lecture of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, titled: ‘Reimagining the Nigerian Healthcare System: Leadership, Research and Innovation for the Future’.
He identified the mass migration of healthcare professionals and the retirement of experienced personnel as a double depletion that is weakening healthcare delivery and eroding future leadership capacity in the sector.
He described the trend as an existential threat to the country’s health system, stressing that only bold policy reforms, sustained investment and coordinated action by governments, healthcare institutions, development partners and other stakeholders could reverse the situation.
According to him, “The health workforce attrition crisis constitutes an existential threat to health security and institutional resilience. The simultaneous loss of younger professionals through migration and experienced workers through retirement creates a ‘double depletion’ effect, weakening both current service delivery and future leadership capacity.”
The don who was the Guest Speaker at the event urged the federal government to adopt a comprehensive strategy that combines managed migration frameworks, improved remuneration, better working conditions, and targeted expansion of the primary healthcare workforce to prevent what he described as a catastrophic deterioration of Nigeria’s health security architecture.
He also advocated far-reaching reforms in health financing, human resources management, gender-responsive healthcare, health policy, legislation, research priorities, economic management and constitutional provisions to build a resilient and inclusive healthcare system.
“By addressing the fundamental gaps in health funding, human resources management, gender-responsive care, health policy and legislative enactments, health research priorities, economic management and relevant constitutional provisions, Nigeria can build a healthcare system that truly works for all its citizens, leaving no one behind,” he stated.
Ijadunola added that the lecture provided a practical roadmap for repositioning Nigeria’s healthcare sector, noting that stronger political commitment would enable the country to leverage technology, innovation and gender-equitable policies to deliver quality, accessible and affordable healthcare.
“With a renewed commitment to healthcare as a national priority, Nigeria can leverage technology, innovation and a gender-equitable approach to deliver quality, accessible and affordable healthcare to its people. This is not just a moral imperative but a crucial step towards a healthier, more prosperous and more equitable Nigeria,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, Prof. Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, said the annual Oladipo Akinkugbe distinguished lecture was more than an academic tradition, describing it as a celebration of the enduring legacy of the late Emeritus Prof. Oladipo Akinkugbe, whose visionary leadership as the institution’s pioneer pro-chancellor and chairman of the Governing Council laid the foundation for the university’s growth.
He noted that the theme of this year’s lecture was timely, saying it reflected Akinkugbe’s lifelong commitment to excellence while addressing the pressing challenges confronting Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
Adejuyigbe expressed confidence that the lecture would generate practical ideas and policy recommendations capable of strengthening healthcare delivery in Nigeria and beyond.