THE JAPA EFFECT:A LOOMING CRISES FOR A NIGERIA'S HEALTHCARE SECTOR OR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

By Adekunle Faderera

Although there has been constant use term of the word Japa it is imperative that we hear the true definition and what it means for us. Japa means to run. It conveys a situation when a Nigerian leaves their country, typically because of socio-economical, financial challenges and the lack of proper

places in Nigeria, and both young and old have become accustomed to the word. Most medical practitioners started with the intention of helping people, but with the lack of resources, they have come to a standstill. The clear lack of resources has become alarming, because how can they help people when there are no resources to do so? Another push factor is the fact that Nigeria has become unsafe coupled with no stable healthcare sector. If Nigeria wasn’t where it is, and another opportunity presented itself, some medical practitioners would still pursue their interests.

Nigeria as a country would remain regardless of who runs the country, some might say. Others would leave at the moment to come back later after gaining more experience. But to be honest, who would want to come back after experiencing a better life? From another point of view. Comfort means different things for different people, some medical practitioners don’t feel safe in Nigeria and that alone is an important factor for choosing not to stay in Nigeria. With the import of Medical practitioners leaving, the implication of this decision will lead to a lack of teachers to train and reproduce more doctors. The only steps that we can take to solve this issue are to improve the state of the hospitals, like adequate staffing, more compensation, provision of health insurance, improve the state of our hospitals, and Implement policies that can better the state of the patients and medical practitioners generally. We should also start from the primary healthcare sector, before moving to the secondary and tertiary sectors. The primary healthcare sector should deal with malaria, typhoid, and prenatal issues. There are also restrictions on what medical practitioners are allowed to and not allowed to do, which will cause a stunt in the growth of healthcare workers. There is a lack of adequate laws that protect nurses from assault, there should be laws that protect and make health workers safe. Another bone of contention is whether the Japa system has a negative or positive effect in Nigeria. There is a negative impact because most vulnerable persons cannot be able to access proper healthcare. There is also no value for human life. Nigeria still ranks 9th among the most dangerous places to give birth in. The fact that the Nigerian government travels abroad to seek healthcare has sown low confidence in the minds of other Nigerians. With the lack of competent healthcare workers, there is more chance of quacks filling in the gaps. The healthcare sector also needs more funding, without this, it is impossible to provide quality healthcare. We should extend our focus on the effects of Japa to healthcare workers who move abroad, there is a surge of cultural exploits, it can foster a good relationship with the new country, and there is also a presence of knowledge advancement. Not to dwell on only the good, there is also the presence of racism and loneliness which stems from staying away from family. After careful consideration, it is clear that there is no specific way to solve this issue, it needs to be targeted on all sides to see a clear change. There should be more value attributed to human life, if our attitude concerning this can change, there will be a mind shift that can produce changes. There should be more funding supporting healthcare workers and their affairs. If government personnel can start using the healthcare centers we use, there will be a significant change in the healthcare infrastructure. After a statistical inquiry, there is an alarming amount of healthcare workers who have decided to leave Nigeria. The nurse to Citizen ratio is scary, there are about 125,000 nurses registered, which is little compared with the number of our populace. There is a need for collaboration among healthcare workers because this will help spark some interest in the general public and generate enlightenment on what is happening in the healthcare system. If this happens, they can carry the public along and make changes.

In summary, since there is no proper infrastructure in Nigeria, these healthcare workers must leave to pursue their dreams and come back when they believe that they have acquired extensive knowledge. If there is educational reform, we can create more healthcare workers. In a year Nigeria loses like 1 billion Naira in medical tourism. There should be an online movement to create more awareness of what is going on in the healthcare system, maybe the government will do something about it