Ondo State has misplaced greater than 400 docs to migration and different types of workforce attrition within the final 5 years, leaving the state with roughly 500 docs in public well being establishments and a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1 to six,000, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has disclosed.
The NMA Chairman in Ondo State, Dr. Roland Bola Arohunmolase, raised the alarm in Akure on Monday whereas talking on behalf of the affiliation’s nationwide president, Dr. (Prof.) Afekhide Ernest Omoti, as a part of actions marking the 2026 Physicians’ Week, themed “Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria.”
Arohunmolase mentioned the mass departure of docs had positioned an unlimited burden on the state’s healthcare system, worsening the workload of the remaining practitioners and threatening the standard of medical providers out there to residents.
“As of today, we barely have 500 doctors across state and federal government health establishments in Ondo State, excluding the private sector. Based on the records available to me, we have about 500 doctors,” he mentioned.
He mentioned, “There was a time when we had about 900 doctors, or close to 1,000, in our healthcare system. However, an average of about 400 doctors have exited the system. This emigration has placed an enormous burden on the healthcare sector.”
The NMA chairman mentioned the state of affairs required pressing intervention by the state authorities, notably via improved remuneration, higher working situations and deliberate insurance policies to draw and retain medical professionals.
“We are using this opportunity to appeal to the Ondo State Government to look inward and consider how it can attract more doctors into the healthcare system. This would help reduce the burnout currently being experienced by doctors and other healthcare professionals in the state,” he mentioned.
Arohunmolase, nevertheless counseled Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for approving the nationwide round on docs’ remuneration issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, describing the choice as a optimistic step in the direction of bettering docs’ welfare.
He, nevertheless, mentioned some states paid docs above the nationally accepted charges, noting that extra aggressive remuneration may assist governments retain skilled practitioners and appeal to new ones.
The NMA chairman additionally attributed the continued medical tourism patronised by rich Nigerians, together with politicians, to insufficient infrastructure and the scarcity of important medical tools within the nation’s healthcare services.
He expressed concern that Ondo State may not have as much as 4 defibrillators, units used to ship managed electrical shocks to sufferers experiencing sure life-threatening coronary heart rhythm disturbances.
“I believe they go abroad because they themselves know the inadequacies that exist within our system,” he mentioned, arguing that the failure to offer important tools and trendy medical know-how had undermined public confidence in native healthcare providers.
He famous that many docs attending to Nigerians overseas had obtained their medical coaching in Nigeria, stressing that the problem was not essentially an absence of competent medical personnel however the inadequacies confronting them within the nation.
“The challenge is not necessarily the competence of our doctors but the inadequacies within the healthcare system. These shortcomings undermine public confidence and encourage people, particularly politicians, to continue seeking medical treatment overseas,” he mentioned.
Arohunmolase referred to as for elevated authorities funding in healthcare, noting that Nigeria’s estimated two to 3 per cent budgetary allocation to the sector remained considerably under the 15 per cent dedication made by African governments underneath the Abuja Declaration.
He mentioned improved funding was important to strengthen well being infrastructure, equip hospitals, enhance working situations and supply aggressive remuneration for medical professionals.
The NMA chairman’s issues echoed the nationwide president’s message in his handle for the 2026 Physicians’ Week, which recognized docs’ welfare, skilled burnout, insecurity, declining remuneration and medical migration as main threats to the way forward for medication in Nigeria.
Omoti, within the handle, warned in opposition to a healthcare tradition that anticipated docs to repeatedly sacrifice their wellbeing whereas working underneath troublesome situations.
“A physician who is physically exhausted, emotionally depleted, chronically stressed and personally neglected cannot indefinitely provide the quality of care our patients deserve,” he mentioned.
He referred to as for improved working environments, sufficient staffing, common medical checks, adequate relaxation and confidential psychological help for docs, stressing that doctor wellbeing was important to affected person security and the efficient supply of healthcare.
The NMA president additionally urged governments to sort out the situations driving docs overseas, arguing that patriotism alone couldn’t persuade medical professionals to stay in Nigeria with out respectable working situations, skilled dignity, safety and aggressive remuneration.
“The answer cannot simply be that doctors should remain because of patriotism. 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 mentioned.
On the way forward for medical observe, Omoti advocated the combination of digital well being, synthetic intelligence, telemedicine and different rising applied sciences into medical training and healthcare supply, whereas insisting that innovation should not erode the human connection between docs and sufferers.
He additionally referred to as for stronger safety for healthcare employees in opposition to threats, intimidation and office violence, urging hospital directors and governments to make sure that hospitals remained secure environments for each medical personnel and sufferers.
The NMA president urged docs to stay united in defending the occupation’s dignity and welfare, whereas calling on governments to spend money on a healthcare system able to retaining expert practitioners and offering Nigerians with accessible, high quality medical providers.
He mentioned securing the way forward for medication required a collective dedication to bettering docs’ welfare, modernising medical training, strengthening well being infrastructure and rebuilding public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Fidelis David in Akure
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