Nahimat Adekoga
The ratio of doctors to patients in Niger state is one to nine thousand patients, as against one to six hundred recommended by the World Health Organisation.
This statement was made by the Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association in Niger State, Dr. Mustapha Yahaya, on Monday when members of the association paid a courtesy call on the House of Assembly Committee on Health.
Yahaya said that the Association has always drawn the attention of the government to the fact that doctors are inadequate in the state.
“We have always made reference to WHO, which recommends one doctor to 600 people. Here, it is one doctor to 9,000 people.”
He explained that there are currently 450 doctors in the state, with many of them already leaving the state due to poor remuneration.
Yahaya urged the state government to fully implement the National Health Bill passed into law in 2014, saying that it would guarantee universal health access to all.
In his response, the Committee Chairman, John Bahago, promised to facilitate the establishment of a medical school in one of the tertiary institutions in Niger, to bridge the manpower gap.
He however urged the Medical Association to weed out quacks from the profession, thereby promising full support toward an improved working environment.
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