The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) President, Dr Olufemi Ogunrinde, debunked rumours on Wednesday that the nation's top medical minds had left for other nations in pursuit of higher salaries and better working circumstances.
At a press conference in Akure to announce the 54th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of PAN, Ogunrinde announced the firing.
“Optimizing Child Healthcare in Nigeria Despite Current Socio-Economic Challenges” is the conference’s theme.
“I want to salute the health workers that are staying behind to continue offering services, and I want to say that it is not the best brains that are leaving.
“We still have the best and fantastic brains who are not leaving, who are committed to staying in this country despite everything,” he remarked.
Ogunrinde expressed concern over Nigeria’s high infant mortality rate and called for the best possible results from all parties involved in ensuring the health and safety of the country’s children.
“We at PAN are not so happy with the poor health indices of Nigeria; though we have made some gains in recent years compared to 1990, we still have some children dying.
“The last statistics show 74 children die per 1000 births, and neonatal deaths almost double that, about 100.
“So, to every 1000 children born, about 100 die. That is about 10 per cent. That is a loss to any nation. When you compare it to what other people are getting in other climes, it is about three to 1000.
“Also, we still have several children that are malnourished. They are stunted; they are not growing well. And from experience, these children constitute a social problem.
“They hardly develop well. They may grow up well with adequate nutrition, but the damage has been done to the brain especially in the first to three years when they are supposed to get the nutrients, but they were not given,” he stated.
The paediatrician elaborated, stating that such harm may be long-lasting and would inevitably alter the nation’s course.
“Can you imagine a nation that is full of defective adults? It is not going to function very well,” he said.
The president of the PAN has urged women to provide their children with the best possible healthcare by firmly enforcing measures like exclusive breastfeeding and vaccines.
“We ask mothers to give exclusive breastfeeding to their children, and husbands should encourage their wives and let them have vaccination and others as directed.
“Let us protect ourselves so that our children will not become orphans. I believe in the famous saying that health is wealth. There should be a demand from the people for good quality health.
“We have made ourselves available despite poor welfare and salary, but people are not demanding our services.
“Maybe you say you cannot afford them, which may be true or because you have faith in the so-called alternative medicine or for other reasons, but I think there is a need for re-orientation of people to seek health in the appropriate place.
“When your child is sick, you go to the appropriate place and when you do that continuously, and you create a demand, everybody in government will see that health is wealth and they will do the needful,” he said.
Ogunrinde said the group was working with the community to boost children’s chances of survival, improve their quality of life, and help them reach their full potential.
“For me, Nigeria has great potential, so when we treat our children well and they grow up, we will have a fantastic country. Everything will just fall into place, but we need to start now,” he said.
He says there are plenty of qualified paediatricians in Ondo and Ekiti, and the state governments there should hire them to improve children’s healthcare.
“They should approach and harness their (paediatricians') potentials regularly and they can give advice on the way forward: our children need to survive,” he said.
He noted that during the Akure conference’s three days, attendees would hear about and discuss ways to combat issues, including sickle cell disease, anaemia, and pneumonia that affect youngsters.