Nigerian healthcare professionals are urging the government to extend the retirement age to address the doctor shortage. They propose setting the retirement age for consultants at 70 and other healthcare roles at 65.
Despite the government’s sanction of hiring doctors, nurses, and clinical workers on a contractual basis after retirement, this policy is deemed unsustainable.
Skilled medical personnel continue to migrate abroad due to factors like inadequate compensation and poor working conditions, exacerbating the shortage. To counter this, stakeholders suggest raising the retirement age.
Prof. Mohammad A. Mohammad of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria stresses the need for this extension to maintain workforce levels and mentor new generations.
Dr. Obinna Ogbonna, former National Chairman of the Joint Health Workers Union, emphasises retaining older workers amidst the ongoing brain drain, highlighting the importance of preventing a workforce vacuum. Meanwhile, Dr Kefas Wadi of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors underscores the necessity of extending retirement age to ensure a sustainable healthcare system, enabling specialists to guide and train future generations.