Alex Olise/
The President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Francis Faduyile, has diagnosed the underlying cause of migration of their members to developed nations, as Catholic doctors meet to prescribe solutions for drug abuse.
Dr Faduyile spoke at the weekend during the 14th Annual Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (ACMPN) at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, where doctors appealed to Nigerians and the Federal Government to step up the fight against all forms of drug abuse and misuse within the country.
Dr. Faduyile, who spoke on the danger posed by brain drain as it affects the medical profession in Nigeria, described it as a serious concern to Nigeria as the country’s highly skilled and well educated Doctors are leaving in droves to other countries like UK, USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia and other European countries for better working conditions.
He noted that presently the country is experiencing poor or declining quality of care in hospitals across the country.
“What is going on is migration of highly educated medical doctors from poorer nation to developed nations,” he said.
He was worried that many state governments in Nigeria are not making effort to employ doctors thereby making many of them to leave the country for other places. He also gave the lack of better working environment and poor remuneration as a major reason why doctors are leaving in droves.
The event with the theme: “Effects of Drug Addiction on Integral Human Development” was declared open by His Grace Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Arch-Bishop of Lagos, who was represented by Rev. Father Julius Olaitan. He warned on the danger posed by drug abuse, especially as it affects pupils and students of both primary, secondary and our higher institutions of learning.
He spoke on the increase in youths indulging in crime related cases like rape, robbery, and cultism.
The Catholic Arch-Bishop called on all medical practitioners and well meaning Nigerians especially parents to join hands and stop the abuse of drug through early education to their wards on the dangers.
The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Raphael Emeka Ogbolu a consultant psychiatrist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the coordinator, Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN).
Speaking on the topic “Effect of Drug Addiction on Integral Human Development” the medical practitioner said that his job as a psychiatrist and the coordinator of the suicide research and prevention initiative had exposed many tales about the impact that drugs can have on integral human development to the extent that life becomes meaningless and suicide an attractive option for drug abusers.
He raised the alarm that in the past one year drug use level was 14.4 per cent among those in the age-range of 15 – 64 years.
He noted that cannabis, a strong narcotic, is the most commonly used and abused drug by our youth.
The speaker urged all Nigerians to step up the fight against drug abuse which poses a major health problem to the society. He said that drug abuse needed to be addressed early, as he stressed the importance of the promotion of mental health. He also called on Nigerians to stop stigmatizing drug abuse and other mental illness because it is a barrier to treatment.
The Association inaugurated the new Lagos executives committees with Dr Patrick Ijewere emerging as Chairman, Dr Ronald Kelechi Ikpe Publicity Secretary among others who are to run the affairs of the Association in Lagos state chapter.
