There is an impending health crisis in Nigeria that needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. The new report by the Nigeria polling organisation (NOI Polls) and the Nigeria Health Watch says that the country will need 10,605 new doctors annually to avert health challenges and meet current population growth rate of 3.5% yearly.

A curious look at the report shows two things – a deficit of doctors and a rapid population growth.

Currently, according to the National Population Commission, Nigeria’s population stands at about one hundred and eighty-two million people. The health sector is in shambles. President’s Buhari medical vacation is clear proof of this.

Hospitals are under staffed, doctors are underpaid, healthcare workers are treated with little or no respect by the government. In many states of the Federation, doctors are owed salaries running into months and in some cases years. They have even been blackmailed not to go on strike as they are reminded of the Hippocratic Oath they swore.

The reality on ground is that the crisis is already upon us as it’s highly unlikely that the country will be able to meet with the required amount of doctors needed. Doctors are leaving the country in their thousands on a daily basis for greener pastures.

The onus lies on the government to make the health sectors comfortable for investors so as to bridge this gap and to avert this impending crisis.

Nigeria also has to address the yearly 3.5% growth rate as we lack the necessary infrastructures. It’s time for the government through its health agencies and the National Orientation Agency to remind Nigerians once again the need for proper family planning.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Editor