The Provost, College of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Professor Barnabas Madong, has urged the Federal and State Governments to invest in the country’s health sector.
Mandong at a briefing held at the university recently said investment in the country’s health sector by the government would help to curb brain drain and medical tourism in Nigeria.
He said, “Our contribution is to make sure we train medical students to meet the global needs. We are aware that because of the level of training and the competencies we have given our students, they have found places in Europe and other parts of the world to be accepted as doctors.
“On the issue of medical tourism, we appeal to the government to do something on this. The medical services cannot be treated in isolation from the entire economic downturn in this country. I believe that any country that pays attention to health, education and agriculture will be placed on a different pedestal. This tripod of development is what is propelling other developed nations to strive.
“We appeal to the Federal Government to look into the issues of remuneration of health workers, this will also curb brain drain in the country’s health sector. A healthy nation is a productive nation. The most important investment anybody can do is in health. What the Federal Government can do is to increase investment in the health sector. If the president will go to any of our hospitals and do his basic medical check, it will create confidence in the citizenry. It will also ginger more Nigerians to invest more in the sector.”
The Provost added that the school would induct 54 medical doctors on January 17, bringing the total number of doctors trained by the school to 258.
