Brain drain: MDCAN rejects bill proposing 5-year service for doctors

The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has rejected a bill seeking to make it mandatory for fresh medical graduates to provide services to Nigeria for up to five years before receiving full registration and license to practise.

The association, in a statement on Saturday signed by its president, Dr Victor Makanjuola and the secretary-general, Dr Yemi R. Raji, said the bill being proposed by the House of Representatives was discriminatory and not in the interest of the people.

It stated that while passion and concern for the health of Nigerians demonstrated by Abiodun Ganiyu Johnson in proposing the bill as panacea for physician brain drain is commendable, the bill was, however, “misdirected, ill-informed and poorly thought through.”

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The association said the bill had a possible effect of doing the exact opposite – aggravating the exodus – which it has been working with the executive arm of government to mitigate.

It stated, “It is pertinent to state that none of the suggestions of the inter-ministerial committee on brain drain and bonding of health workers has been implemented till date.”