The Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria has called for adequate funding of residency training to reduce brain drain in the health sector.
The president of the association, Dr. Emeka Orji, said this when members of his board paid a courtesy visit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in Abuja.
This was contained in a press release signed by Dr. Orji and made available to our correspondent on Monday.
He said that adequate budgets and funding are needed for the health sector, to facilitate the supply of equipment and consumables in hospitals and the welfare of workers.
“Adequate funding of residency training in Nigeria is needed. This highlights the need to revive the foreign exchange program for specialized training doctors. We strongly believe that this would help reduce the push for Nigerian doctors to relocate abroad. The 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund also comes to mind.
“It is important to recognize that resident doctors in Nigeria are working under pressure and mechanisms should be put in place to quickly resolve issues affecting their well-being rather than waiting for things to degenerate to the level of industrial disharmony.
“There is a need for MRTA amendment, upward revision of the Unified Medical Pay Structure, non-taxation of on-call duty which some states have started, special housing scheme and car ownership scheme,” he stated.
NARD is the umbrella of all doctors in the country undergoing specialized training in different fields of medicine.
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