Lagos: The Academy of Medical Sciences (ACADMEDS) has called on the Federal Government to urgently address Nigeria’s critical shortage of healthcare workers and high maternal mortality rate. The Academy made the call in a communiqu© issued after its maiden Biennial Presidential Colloquium, which was held on July 30 in Lagos and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the colloquium, themed ‘Nigeria’s Health at a Crossroad: Confronting Workforce Shortages, Epidemic Risks and Maternal Mortality’, brought together academic leaders, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and members of the public. The communiqu© was signed by Emeritus Prof. Osato Giwa-Osagie, President of the Academy, and Prof. Mayowa Owolabi, Secretary of the academy. It identified the health workforce deficit, maternal mortality, epidemic preparedness, and emergency response as major challenges requiring urgent intervention.
The academy highlighted that Africa bears about 24 percent of the global disease burden but has access to only three percent of the global health workforce. It noted that over 70 percent of practicing medical practitioners in Nigeria are concentrated in five urbanized administrative zones, including Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, and Kaduna, leaving rural communities underserved. The academy attributed this disparity to inadequate remuneration, poor healthcare infrastructure, and policy misalignment between the Ministries of Education and Health, which encouraged international migration of physicians.
On maternal mortality, the Academy stated that Nigeria accounts for approximately 28 percent of global maternal deaths, with severe postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, and obstructed labor among the preventable causes. It identified poor family planning uptake, inadequate access to skilled birth attendants, poor antenatal care, weak referral systems, and high out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure as factors worsening the situation.
The Academy recommended upgrading designated general hospitals nationwide into accredited clinical training centers under the Community-Oriented-Based Medical Education System (COBMES) to increase the production of medical personnel. It also called for stronger coordination between the Federal Ministries of Health and Education, competitive remuneration for health workers, improved workplace conditions, and targeted financing for human resources for health.
Regarding maternal and child healthcare, the Academy recommended scaling up Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC), equitable deployment of certified midwives to underserved areas, and improved access to essential maternal and child health services. It advocated stronger blood banking systems and the nationwide adoption of the Abiye model of Ondo State, which reduced maternal mortality by 85 percent.
On epidemic preparedness, the Academy called for predictable, multi-year funding for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), stronger state-level Public Health Emergency Operations Centres, domestic genomic surveillance, and decentralized biosafety laboratory networks. It further recommended the full institutionalization of a multi-sectoral one health platform integrating human, animal, and environmental health surveillance systems.
The Academy also urged the establishment of an autonomous National Health Emergency Reserve Fund and permanent state-level Rapid Response Teams to facilitate timely responses to health emergencies. To advance Universal Health Coverage, the Academy called on the Federal Government to progressively increase annual health sector budgetary allocations toward the 15 percent benchmark established by the 2001 Abuja Declaration and urged the comprehensive implementation of the National Health Act 2014, particularly the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
According to the communiqu©, there should be the establishment of a Presidential Oversight and Monitoring Committee to track progress in health workforce expansion, maternal mortality reduction, and biosecurity preparedness. The Academy reaffirmed its readiness to work with federal and state governments and relevant public health institutions to implement the recommendations and strengthen Nigeria’s health system.