Brain Drain: Deploy Innovative Strategies To Retain HealthCare Professionals, Experts Tell Pate

Ali Pate is the newly appointed Minister of Health by President Bola Tinubu. With a strong background in healthcare management and policy, he is expected to bring significant positive changes to the Nigerian healthcare system.

Pate brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of health. Having previously served as the Minister of State for Health, and for international health funding platform GAVI, he has demonstrated his commitment to improving healthcare delivery and ensuring the well-being of the Nigerian population.

His track record in implementing innovative policies and programs that prioritize primary healthcare and community engagement has earned him widespread recognition and respect.

Reacting to his appointment as the Minister of Health by President Bola Tinubu, stakeholders in the health sector have expressed optimism and lauded Tinubu for bringing Pate to spearhead the coordination of the health systems.

The Vice President and Director of Strategy of Medical Initiative for Africa and a Consultant Family Physician, Dr. Agbor Neji Ebuta, said Prof Ali Pate’s appointment “will be a breath of fresh air” for the country and its health sector.

Pate, he continued, arrived at the role with extensive multi-sectoral experience as well as a significant local and worldwide network spanning the business, public, and political spheres.

Dr Ebuta said “These attributes predicts that he has the correct mix to deliver well planned and implemented health rescue programme for the Nation.

“His Job is clearly cut out for him, given the multi- domain interventions. For example with a larger doctor patient ratio in the country of 1 : 5000 -10,000 average leaves much to be desired. He will need to deploy innovative strategies to attract, retain, train and motivate an optimal number of health forces.”

Ebuta stated that the incoming Minister of Health will need to prioritize and pay attention to regional disparities in the health workforce, as well as the country’s high reliance on medical inputs from foreign countries, which leaves citizens at their mercy.

“The high dependence on medical inputs like medicine and other consumables sourced from foreign countries have meant that, rising forex-related costs of these items, have dire implications.

“Patients now find it difficult to sustain themselves in drugs. Thus a spike in complications will not be unexpected like kidney failure from poor control of hypertension and diabetes in the near future.”

He stated that Nigeria has a population of about 133 million multi-dimensionally poor people, with approximately 70% paying out of pocket for healthcare services; thus, the newly appointed minister of health must operationalize the new National Health Insurance Authority Act in order to reduce the country’s alarmingly high mortality and morbidity rates.

He added that the healthcare financing space will require re-energizing to rapidly drive-up access to healthcare, and to scale up vaccination coverage in the country.

In addition, he said there is a need to streamline and optimize the unstructured funding of the health sector.

Commending the choice of President Tinubu, the CEO, EpidAlert and partner at the dPubliQ, Dr Lawal Bakare said Pate has the most relevant capacity requirements for a country like Nigeria with the current situation of the health systems.

He said “In terms of expectations, it is now the time for Prof Pate to bring in most of the ideas he probably showed when he was the Minister of State for Health. “

He did, however, state that a lot has changed in the health system since Pate left, with the country now having an active Center for Disease Control, global access to data, NHIA that defines the composition of health financing and access to health insurance, Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), among others.