Shettima and grateful doctors
Interestingly, Vice President Kashim Shettima recently received a group of female medical doctors at his private residence in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. It was a special visit by the doctors “to thank him for all he has done for us and to congratulate him on his well-deserved position as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” explained one of them, Dr Aisha Kaumi. Shettima of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) became Vice President in May 2023.
During his first term as Borno State governor, he introduced a Female Medical Intervention Programme to sponsor the training of female doctors abroad. He was a two-term governor from 2011 to 2019. In 2014, his administration gave scholarships to beneficiaries of the female empowerment scheme from the state’s 27 local government areas.
At the time, he observed that the state “desperately needs” female medical doctors “in view of the fact that women have peculiar health challenges arising from maternity, menstrual and other issues that women would be in the best position to handle as a result of the African culture and religion.” The state government said $9500 would be spent on each of the beneficiaries per session, and their parents were not expected to make contributions to their training.
According to Kaumi, “We were 60 then, 30 of us from El-Razi Medical University, Khartoum in Sudan, and the other 30 who graduated from the National University of Sudan. Alhamdulillah, all of us graduated and currently, about 50 of us are working with the state government here in Borno State. The remaining ten are yet to pass their medical exams but, Insha Allah, we are hoping that they will catch up with us.” She added that the visit “went well,” and the Vice President “assured us that in case we want to specialise he was 100 percent ready to assist us.”
It is striking that she said the doctors were working in public hospitals in Borno State, apparently uninfluenced by the reported escalating exodus of medical professionals from Nigeria. It is unclear whether they are obliged to serve the state under the terms of the training programme. Or is serving the state their way of demonstrating gratitude for their training?
In the health sector, doctors, nurses and other health professionals are leaving the country as if escaping from a hopeless situation. The alarming flight has been blamed on poor leadership, corruption, poor remuneration and toxic work experience. More than 9,000 medical doctors were reported to have left the country to work in the UK, Canada and America, from 2016 to 2018. Also, more than 700 medical doctors trained in Nigeria were said to have relocated to the UK from December 2021 to May 2022, a period of six months. According to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Nigeria-trained doctors are leaving in droves for Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
It is noteworthy that the country’s doctor-patient ratio is alarmingly poor, and nowhere near the standard prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is one doctor per 600 people. The situation is worsening as doctors continue to leave the country for pastures new. With only about four doctors available per 10,000 people in Nigeria, it is unsurprising that there are issues regarding availability of, and access to, quality primary healthcare services in the country. There is no doubt that the problem is compounded by the flight of nurses and medical laboratory scientists.
Importantly, in April 2001, heads of state of African Union countries met in Abuja and pledged to set a target of allocating at least 15 percent of their annual budget to improve the health sector. It is disappointing that Nigeria has consistently failed to meet the standard of the Abuja Declaration. For instance, only 4.7 percent of the national budget was allocated to the health sector in 2022; and only 5.75 percent of the total budget was allocated to the health sector in 2023. The 2024 national budget continues the trend of underfunding in the health sector.
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Kaumi notably remarked that the Borno State government, under Shettima’s successor, Babagana Zulum, “is really doing well in trying to equip the hospitals.” In February, the WHO State Coordinator in Borno State, Ibrahim Salisu, commended the Borno State government “for giving the health sector the utmost priority, as demonstrated by the allocation of about 15 percent of the total state budget for 2024 to the health sector.”
There are significant lessons from the doctors’ visit to Shettima, including his vision for healthcare in Borno State and his creative female empowerment ideas, which are relevant nationally. The visit also highlighted the present Borno State government’s laudable prioritisation of health sector funding.
Shettima’s state-sponsored female medical training programme remains attractive, and is worth emulating by state governments across the country, possibly localised to reduce the cost. It is a powerful empowerment tool and a potent intervention in a country where girl-child education still faces formidable challenges, including cultural and economic factors.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, at an event to mark the International Day of the Girl (IDG) 2023, “7.6 million girls in Nigeria, many from the northern regions,” lacked access to quality education. “We need to emphasise the transformative power of education,” she said. The IDG is observed annually on October 11. It is a global platform to advocate the full spectrum of girls’ rights.
Kaumi’s life was transformed, and the lives of the others who benefited from the medical training programme. “It was indeed a dream come true because I never ever thought I would become a medical doctor,” she said. “So, Alhamdulillah, I’m very grateful to the Vice President. Without him, I don’t think I would have become a medical doctor today. It was not easy; it was a kind of roller coaster of hardship and the courage to study well so that we can come here and help our people in Borno State. So, we are very grateful to him.” He certainly deserves their gratitude, and the country’s appreciation.
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