Association of Colleges of Medicine of Nigeria’s (ACMN) Chairman Prof. Folasade Ogunsole yesterday expressed sadness at the shortage of the required number of doctors in the country.
She said Nigeria was yet to meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) benchmark of one doctor per 600 persons.
Prof. Ogunsole noted that it would take Nigeria about 101 years to meet the standard, even if all medical graduates did not migrate from the country or remained in the profession.
She spoke in Abuja at the opening of a three-day capacity development programme for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Academic Staff in Nigerian universities.
The ACMN chairman explained that the nation would need about 277,000 doctors to meet WHO’s requirements, noting that about 35,000 doctors work in Nigeria.
She said the nation’s medical schools trained more than the number of doctors practising in the country, adding that majority of them were either practising outside the country or had changed profession.
The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie said NUC has established Best Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) for all its approved courses and continues to review it routinely based on perceived needs and recommendations from stakeholders