Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammad Ali Pate, has said the ministry is working on providing special funding to accelerate the training of specialist doctors and mitigate the impact of brain drain in the health sector.
He said the government was adopting a phased approach to address the challenges facing residency and specialist training in the country.
The minister gave the assurance yesterday, at the 43rd convocation ceremony of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), Ijanikin, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the minister, who was represented by the Director, Department of Hospital Services, Dr. Jimoh Saludeen, said postgraduate training remained critical to building a resilient health system.
“Without a strong and well-trained workforce, no health system can thrive. This makes the role of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria absolutely indispensable,” he said.
The minister said that as the apex postgraduate medical education institution in Nigeria, the ministry would ensure access to the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund) for the college and provide support for endowment fund raising, especially for simulation equipment and capacity building.
Pate also promised increased budgetary allocation for residency training and expansion of College activities across the six geopolitical zones. He said the ministry would approve waiver requests to recruit Fellows as Deputy and Assistant Registrars for effective residency training.
On infrastructure, Pate promised completion of infrastructural projects at the college headquarters in Ijanikin, Lagos, including the senate building and a national clinical skills and simulation centre.
The minister said the ministry would address the acquisition of an Abuja office for the college to enhance its national presence and provide dedicated funding for health research and the acquisition of modern simulation equipment.
Congratulating the graduands, Pate said the occasion was not only a celebration of academic excellence but also a reaffirmation of the vital role of postgraduate medical education in strengthening Nigeria’s health system and shaping the future of healthcare delivery.
He also hailed the college for rising from humble beginnings 42 years ago to become the flagship of postgraduate medical education in Nigeria, setting standards, accrediting training institutions, and producing generations of medical and dental specialists who continue to shape the face of healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Delivering the convocation lecture, titled ‘A Pandemic, Examinations and a Degree, Prof. Solomon Kadiri, warned that COVID-19 had not gone completely, warning that while the virus appeared to have been weakened, Nigerians should remain watchful.
The President of the college, Prof. Peter Ebeigbe, said the college had added 480 specialists to the Nigerian workforce in the health sector, stressing that if they all stayed back in the country, they would help make a difference in the health sector.
At the convocation, the college graduated 405 fellows, 34 Doctors of Medicine, and 37 diplomas in Family Medicine. The college also honoured four distinguished fellows and four postgraduate diplomates awardees in Anaesthesia and Public Health.
