Strengthen Healthcare Systems For Increased Resilience, Enabulele Urges Nigeria, Other African Countries
• Warns Continent’s Health Workers' Deficit Reaches 5.3 Million Amid Brain Drain
• Threat To Universal Health Coverage
Dr. Osahon Enabulele, immediate past President, World Medical Association (WMA) has warned of a huge brain drain and shortage of 5.3 million health workers in Africa, including Nigeria, threatening Universal Health Coverage (UHC), urging for more strengthened healthcare systems.
Enabulele explained that the world needs 10 million more healthcare workers and out of this, 5.3 million workers are needed in Africa. In view of the huge brain drain, Enabulele said Africa has more responsibility to ensure that governments in the continent take the responsibility to build more resilient healthcare mechanisms to secure its healthcare workers.
He made the disclosure Monday at Benin Airport upon his return home after serving a one-year term at the WMA. Medical professionals, friends, and well-wishers flooded the airport to warmly welcome him.
Concerning his stewardship, he said, “I want to appreciate all those who supported my tenure and we have been able to say that we have made our own inroads into global affairs.
“Importantly, what we have been preaching over time in terms of building resilient healthcare systems has now been accepted as a reality. So, all nations of the world are now committing themselves more than ever before as a result of the very strong advocacy that we advance to ensure that they get committed to building resilient healthcare systems.
“That’s more important for us in Africa where we have very fragile health systems. Along with that is the issue of building a resilient health workforce. You cannot have a healthcare system that does not boast of the requisite number of healthcare workers.
“Africa today has a deficit of about 5.3 million healthcare workers to be in a serious position to attain universal health coverage.
“Globally, we need 10 million more workers but out of this, 5.3 million workers are needed in Africa so in the light of the huge brain drain we have more responsibility to ensure that our governments are taken to account to build more resilient mechanisms to secure that our own healthcare workers, physicians and other health professionals stay in their countries rather than encouraging them to move because of the very indecent working conditions that we have.”
He said that there is a need for African countries and governments to create an enabling working environment and competitive wages for medical workers to check healthcare workers’ migration from Africa.
For Nigeria, Enabulele said, “The Nigerian government does not need to reinvent the wheel, the solutions have since been there, all they need to do is to dust up the files and get on board those progressive solutions and advice that have been given to them a long time ago.
“I was a member of the 2014 National Conference and we also advanced progressive policies to transform not only the health system but the Nigerian state but we have more often than not been an observer of these resolutions in the breach,” he said.
He said his tenure as WMA president has proven that Africa has what it takes to be heard globally.
Secure Global Health Security Beyond Declarations
Dr. Osahon Enabulele, immediate past President of the World Medical Association (WMA) at the scientific session of the 74th General Assembly of the World Medical Association, jointly organised by the Rwanda Medical Association and the World Medical Association in Kigali, weekend.
Earlier, Enabulele, stressed the need for political leaders and governments worldwide to move beyond non-binding political declarations to real commitments through visible and practical actions to enhance global health security by strengthening health systems and developing a resilient health workforce.
Enabulele spoke at the weekend while delivering the opening remarks at the scientific session of the 74th General Assembly of the World Medical Association, jointly organised by the Rwanda Medical Association and the World Medical Association in Kigali.
He noted that global health security became necessary following the spread of new, emerging, and re-emerging infectious diseases, the impact of globalised trade and travel, including cross-border movements of animals, the health impact of climate change, and the rising trend of antimicrobial resistance.
Enabulele said, “Global Health Security entails building resilient health systems with an integrated robust physician-led multi-disciplinary primary health care system, and an effective diagnostic and surveillance capacity.”
He further explained that it also involves building resilient health systems that are inclusive, adaptive, efficient, effective, and meet present expectations and address current and future challenges such as weak health systems, brain drain, and burn-out of physicians as well as other health professionals, Antimicrobial resistance, and Climate change.
He said, “Importantly, Global health security entails expanding universal access to care and building a resilient health workforce that is highly resourced, healthy and motivated, with decent, safe and enabling working conditions.
“It, therefore, requires sustained investments in all the building blocks of the health system, including health infrastructure, medicines, diagnostics, vaccines, health management information, and surveillance systems”
He also added that good governance and the right political commitment to the health and well-being of citizens were required to achieve global health security.
Enabulele also appreciated efforts at developing a post-COVID-19 Pandemic treaty and the recently endorsed political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. However, he called on political leaders and governments across the world to move beyond mere non-binding political declarations to real commitments through visible and practical actions by governments.
Enabulele reiterated the need to continually prioritise the critical place of the health workforce in such political declarations.
Address Widening Health Inequalities, Inequities
“The above notwithstanding, I wish to state that unless and until there is a more sincere move towards addressing the widening health inequalities, inequities, and disparities across the world, with the promotion of an inclusive and equitable world, the search for Global Health Security may be in vain.
“A critical example of inequity in resource allocation is the case of health workforce shortages across the world. The burgeoning phenomenon of burnout and brain drain of physicians and other health professionals is one that needs accelerated global attention if Global Health Security is to be achieved, particularly in the low-middle-income countries of the world,” he stated.
Noting that estimates by the World Health Organisation that by 2030, the world will be in need of about 10 million more healthcare workers, he lamented that a lot of these deficits would be in the Low and Middle-Income Countries, (LMIC) countries.
Continuing he queried: “How can the world address this unfortunate inequitable situation through effective management of the push and pull factors, with governments on both sides of the divide made to adopt an ethical consensus with responsible management of health workforce shortages?
“How can governments be made to invest more in the welfare, working, and living conditions of physicians and other health professionals? Can the governments be taken to account, in terms of their adherence to minimum benchmark expectations?”
He recalled the vaccine nationalism and inequity that manifested itself during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving behind citizens of most of the developing countries, with negative knock-on effects on Global Health Security.
He said the outrage that trailed the unfortunate inequity in resource allocation reinforced the saying that ‘no one is safe until everyone is safe’.
He said: “If Global Health Security must be attained, this saying must be reckoned with not only in words but in concrete action. In this regard, the frontiers of global cooperation and global solidarity must be continually oiled and advanced.”
Speaking on the unending conflicts and wars like the Russia-Ukraine war, he argued that it was necessary significant at engendering Global Health Security.
“We must therefore sustain our call for a cessation of this and other senseless conflicts and wars around the world,” he stated.
Comments
Post a Comment