NMA demands better pay, safer workplaces to stem doctors’ exodus

By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called on the Federal Government to provide doctors with internationally competitive remuneration, improved working conditions and safer workplaces to stem the growing exodus of medical professionals from the country.

The association warned that excessive workloads, occupational stress, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, poor remuneration and declining welfare were undermining physicians’ wellbeing and threatening the future of medical practice in Nigeria.

The Chairman of the NMA in Ogun State, Dr Sunday Enimola, made the call at a press conference in Abeokuta as part of activities marking the 2026 Physicians’ Week, themed “Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria.”

Enimola said Nigeria must move beyond lamenting the migration of doctors and implement practical policies that would encourage medical professionals to remain in the country and build fulfilling careers.

According to him, appeals to patriotism alone would not reverse the trend without deliberate efforts to improve the conditions under which doctors work and live.

“Patriotism should be supported by decent working conditions, professional dignity, security, competitive remuneration, opportunities for career development and a health system in which doctors can see a future for themselves and their families,” he said.

He urged the government and hospital chief executives to prioritise physicians’ welfare, occupational safety and professional development, stressing that the survival of Nigeria’s healthcare system depended largely on the wellbeing and retention of its medical workforce.

Enimola called for a fundamental shift in the culture of medical practice, which, he said, often expected doctors to sacrifice their personal wellbeing in the service of patients.

He argued that the longstanding expectation that physicians should continue working despite exhaustion and neglect their health in fulfilling their professional responsibilities was neither sustainable nor beneficial to patients.

According to him, a physician who is physically exhausted, emotionally depleted and chronically stressed cannot indefinitely deliver the quality of care patients deserve.

He called for greater awareness of the mental and physical health challenges confronting medical professionals, urging doctors to embrace preventive healthcare, regular medical examinations, healthy lifestyles, adequate rest and confidential professional and psychological support.

The NMA chairman also advocated work environments where doctors could take leave without guilt, rest without shame and seek assistance without fear of being perceived as weak.

He maintained that physicians’ wellbeing should be treated as an essential component of patient safety and overall health system performance, rather than a personal concern left to individual practitioners.

Enimola identified excessive working hours, occupational stress, unsafe working environments, inadequate staffing, violence against healthcare workers, poor remuneration and delayed entitlements as some of the factors exposing doctors to physical and psychological risks.

He warned that Nigeria could not afford to continue losing medical professionals to preventable causes while they were still actively engaged in saving lives.

The association also condemned threats, intimidation, assaults and other forms of violence against healthcare workers, insisting that hospitals must provide safe environments for both medical professionals and patients.

“Hospitals must be places of healing, not theatres of violence,” Enimola said.

He stressed that doctors could not deliver compassionate and effective healthcare while constantly worrying about their personal safety.

Among the measures he identified as necessary to protect physicians were safer workplaces, adequate security, appropriate medical equipment, functional healthcare infrastructure, decent accommodation where necessary and improved conditions of service.

“The safety of doctors is not negotiable. And when doctors are safe, patients are safer,” he added.

Enimola further called for greater investment in emerging technologies, warning that Nigeria must prepare its healthcare system for the rapid transformation taking place in medical practice globally.

He identified artificial intelligence (AI), telemedicine, electronic medical records, precision medicine, digital diagnostics, remote patient monitoring, robotics and genomics as innovations increasingly reshaping healthcare delivery.

According to him, Nigeria could not afford to remain on the margins of the technological revolution transforming the health sector.

He, however, cautioned that technology should complement medical professionals rather than undermine the human relationships at the heart of healthcare.

“Technology must serve the doctor and the patient, not replace the humanity at the heart of medicine,” he said.

He explained that future physicians would require skills beyond traditional clinical knowledge, including data analysis, artificial intelligence, digital health, cybersecurity, research methodology, health economics, communication, leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration.

He consequently urged medical schools to review their curricula to ensure that students and young doctors were adequately prepared for the changing demands of healthcare delivery.

The NMA chairman also called for increased investment in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, improved teaching hospitals, stronger research capacity and better support for academic physicians.

He warned against compromising the standards of medical training, maintaining that the quality of future healthcare would depend largely on the quality of education provided to medical students and young doctors.

“The quality of tomorrow’s healthcare depends on the quality of today’s medical education. We cannot afford to compromise standards,” he said.

While advocating the preservation of high training standards, Enimola called for the adoption of modern educational methods, including simulation, digital learning, virtual collaboration, competency-based education and interdisciplinary training.

He said medical education must equip future physicians with the ability to think critically, adapt to emerging challenges and pursue continuous professional development throughout their careers.

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