Health
Nursing Federation Slams UK, Others For Recruiting From Poorer Nations
By Azeez Mojeed Olusola
The International Council of Nurses has accused wealthy countries of recruiting nursing staff from some of the world’s most fragile health systems, which they find extremely hard to justify hence advised that the trend be stopped entirely.
The ICN said seven or eight wealthy countries — notably Britain, the United States, and Canada — were driving around 80 percent of international nurse migration, to try to address their domestic shortages.
“We are very concerned by some of the examples,” ICN chief executive Howard Catton told a press conference organised by the UN correspondents association in Geneva.
He cited talks between Britain and Ghana whereby London will pay Accra £1,000 ($1,240) per nurse recruited.
“That, in no way, goes anywhere near recognising the true value of the training costs of that nurse, or the loss to the Ghanaian health system,” he said.
When adding in experience in the field, “I’d expect to see £50,000 as a price to compensate for that experience at least — if not more. £1,000 is woefully short.”
The ICN said international recruitment focused largely on experienced, specialised nurses, rather than the “myth” that only newly-qualified nurses were being targeted.
“That creates a serious deficit in expertise in countries that cannot afford to lose their more experienced nurses. That has really been a serious concern,” said ICN president Pamela Cipriano.
“When you take those nurses out of the clinical environment, you truly have a brain drain.”
She said countries had to adopt a strategy of becoming self-sufficient in producing nurses.
“We’re appealing to the ethics of countries that health is a global issue,” she said.
“We don’t want to see some countries thrive and others hurt.”
Catton also highlighted Britain’s agreement with the Nepalese government on nurse recruitment, noting that the ratio of nurses to the British population is around 80 to 10,000, while in Nepal it is nearer 20.
“That is already taking nurses from a very low base, where access to healthcare is limited,” he said.
“That sort of recruitment can mean that a service simply isn’t provided.”
“If you’re a government who is relying on international recruitment as a quick fix to shortages because you haven’t invested enough, be very, very careful about that,” Catton said.
“For probably the 45 or 50 most vulnerable countries around the world,” he said, “there is a very strong case that… there shouldn’t be any recruitment.”
Founded in 1899, the Geneva-based ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nursing associations representing 28 million nurses worldwide.
The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), has embraced Jigawa State’s healthcare delivery policy as a model for implementing the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) programme.
The initiative is targeted at improving healthcare services across Nigeria, starting from the sub-national level.
The decision came after an assessment visit to various healthcare facilities in rural Jigawa.
The delegation, led by UNICEF’s Chief of Health in Abuja, Eduardo Celades Blanco, included representatives from the NGF, the Federal Ministry of Health, and WHO.
The visit was to explore how Jigawa’s healthcare system could serve as a framework for SWAp’s implementation nationwide.
Permanent Secretary of the Jigawa State Ministry of Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim, indicated that the SWAp programme is seeking to consolidate resources to tackle healthcare challenges efficiently.
He noted that SWAp is designed to pool resources from donors and governments into a common basket, ensuring equitable resource allocation based on health burdens across states.
According to him, Jigawa State’s success in healthcare, including high immunization rates, antenatal care, and improved access to healthcare facilities, made it an ideal model for the project.
The SWAp team highlighted Jigawa’s effective coordination and resource management as key factors that other states could emulate.
The SWAp initiative is aimed at streamlining healthcare funding to minimise disparities by focusing on resource allocation according to need. Jigawa’s success in this area will be used as a blueprint for implementing the SWAp programme across Nigeria.
Software applications for early detection of Diabetes and Breast Cancer have been developed by a staff of the Federal University Dutse, Dr. Salihu Ibrahim.
A statement issued by the public relations unit of the institution said Dr Ibrahim who achieved the feat is the Head of the Department of Medical Biochemistry and a renowned Phyto -Medical personnel and also a Researcher.
Speaking on the feat and why he developed the applications, Dr Ibrahim said, Diabetes and Breast Cancer are major diseases ravaging Nigeria and Africa.
According to him, as a Researcher, he has been interested in finding ways to mitigate the scourge as currently almost 70% of diabetic patients in Africa are unaware of their condition and they often discover it accidentally.
He indicated that since almost everyone has a mobile phone, I felt I can develop an application software to help people identify their risk level adding that the software will not prescribe medication; instead, it will assess whether users are at high, medium, or low risk and advise them to seek medical intervention.
Explaining further Dr. Ibrahim said the software will be more beneficial especially for people living in rural areas because they can quickly assess their risk levels from the comfort of their homes, rather than waiting for extended periods to see a doctor.
On the Breast Cancer detection App , the Researcher said the idea came to him during an Innovation Hub Training sponsored by the University, and at the end participants were mandated to develop a project
He added that he focused on breast cancer because it is one of the problems affecting our immediate communities.
He said the Breast Cancer software application will guide even women who do not have higher education because the application is very simple and it’s more of pictorials adding that the application has already been licensed with the Nigerian Copyright Commission.
He expressed the optimism that the University will also benefit from it.
Dr. Ibrahim said the applications have not been uploaded to the Play Store, because in order for it to be available on the Play Store, they need to be commercialized and allow interested parties to invest in the idea.
**Obi in Kogi state, says his investment in Health, Education for the good of society
***Donates N10 million to Nursing College in Kogi
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election in Nigeria, Mr Peter Obi, has indicated that Nigeria is undeveloped because the nation has not aggressively invested in the critical areas of development, which he said are; health, education and pulling people out of poverty.
Obi made the remarks yesterday, when he paid a visit to Grimard College of Nursing Sciences, Anyigba, Kogi State, where he donated N10 million to the College for the training of nurses, who he said, are at the centre of primary healthcare delivery in the nation.
A statement by spokesperson of the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) Yunusa Tanko quoted him to have indicated that his unwavering commitment to building a better nation through investments in the critical areas of human and national development; health and education, is ultimately for the good of the nation and the future of society.
He maintained that the nation is, today, facing serious challenges of insecurity and other socio-economic challenges due to lack of investment in the critical areas.
“I have not only remained consistent in urging governments, at all levels, to invest more in health and education, but I have also continued to call on donor agencies to do the same. Our investment in the future of our children is for the good of society and the progress of our nation,” Obi said.
Addressing the nursing students, Obi reminded them that they are in a noble profession which cares for humanity.
“I am particularly concerned about the training of more nurses who play very vital roles in caring for the health of society. As experts continue to warn of a severe shortage of nurses, we must remain proactive by investing in their training, through that, we can have enough for our domestic health sector, and export more to the global community,” he added
Obi thanked the Proprietor of the College, Bishop Anthony Ademu Adaji; the Management and the Staff of the College for their commitment to training compassionate and competent healthcare professionals.
“Our commitment remains to build a New Nigeria which offers Nigerians access to good healthcare and educational opportunities. It is Possible,” Obi concluded.
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