New Telegraph

Japa: Create Enabling Environment For Doctors, WACP Tells W’African Govts

As the majority of health workers especially medical doctors continue to seek greener pastures abroad, the West African College of Physicians (WACP) has advised governments in West Africa to create an enabling environment of they want to reverse the worsening trend.

Giving the advice while speaking at the opening ceremony of the College’s 48th Annual General Scientific Meeting (AGSM) in Abuja, outgoing President of the College, Dr Rose Macauley, also advised newly inducted members and honourary fellows of the College drawn from the 13 chapters of West Africa, to stay back in their respective countries and contribute their quota rather than migrating to Western countries.

Macauley who hails from Liberia, urged the inductees to keep their feet on the ground and contribute their quota towards the development of the health sector in west Africa region, where they attained their training.

She said: “We in the College, we encourage ourselves to give back to our society, and not to go away, such idea is the value of the college.

“We are encouraging the government to make available enabling environment particularly for our young doctors, that is the only way we can keep them in the country for them to practice and discourage migration.

“This simply means addressing their personal issues, making sure that they have enough equipment in supply to enable them exercise their profession.”

The outgoing President said that the college had been able to outline some of the challenges facing the health sector for government to implement change for better result.

“We are empowered to give recommendations to various government and encourage them to implement the recommendations.”

President Elect of the College, Dr Mamadou Mourtalla from Senegal, noted that the brain drain of doctors from the African region was a big problem that every government from the region needs to show concern.

While noting that the continent has a large number of committed and educated doctors who should not be allowed to go and give their services to countries that did not make them who they have become, Mourtalla advised that the best way to keep young Africa doctors was to attend to their situation to enable them give their best

President-Elect of the College called on political leaders in West African countries to rise to the occasion, urging them to fund the training of the doctors, provide equipment in hospitals, and make doctors to be more committed.

Earlier, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, highlighted the consequences of the political, epidemiology economic, climatic and demographic transitions the West African region was currently battling with.

According to him these includes; population growth, the emergence of infectious diseases occasioned by changes in the rainfall pattern the decrease in food production and increase in consumption of processed food.

Pate while noting the limited infrastructural investment in the West African region was major reason behind the over dependance on donor, said there was an urgent need for West African governments to change the narrative, collaborate with each other to tackle the challenges in the region’s health sector.

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