The president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians, Dr. Orji Innocent, sounded the alarm about the large number of members of the association who are moving out of the country in search of greener pastures and said that the association has lost more than 2000 members in the last two years.

He said that if the situation is not addressed, it may escalate to the point where Nigerians wake up one day to find that there are no more doctors in hospitals.

Inocencio raised the concern on Saturday when answering questions from journalists following the presentation of a statement issued at the end of the association’s conference in Uyo.

He said a survey in December revealed that more than 2,000 members had moved to greener pastures.

Meanwhile, in the statement, the association called for increased budget funding of the health sector in the country, to the tune of 15 percent of the annual budget allocation to improve the quality of health care delivery.

The statement read in part: “The National Executive Council salutes the committee established by the Federal Government to mitigate the brain drain in the health sector.

“The association urges a speedy completion of the task and the immediate implementation of its recommendations to improve the delivery of health care services and reduce the emigration of skilled health workers from the country.

“NEC calls for increased funding of the health sector in the country, to the tune of 15 percent of the annual budget allocation in line with the 2001 Abuja Declaration for the financing of health care in Africa and global best practices. as well as digitalization of health services to improve the quality of health care delivery to Nigerian citizens.”

The president said NEC urged the chief medical directors of the country’s tertiary hospitals to take responsibility for security at their various hospitals as NARD would no longer continue to see its members being assaulted by staff members, patients, family members or security agents.

He said the association asked the Police Inspector General to investigate and arrest the perpetrators of the unlawful shooting of one of its members in Delta and to ensure they are properly punished to deter others.