How to Keep Doctors at Rural Areas, By Minister

Provision of good work environment and other incentives to cushion the effects of living in the rural areas have been described as parts of the essential requirements for attracting and keeping doctors and nurses to man primary health care facilities at the grassroots.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman gave the assertion during an advocacy visit to her Health counterpart, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin in Abuja.

This, with complete free maternal and child health care, Mrs. Suleiman added, would go a long way in reducing the incidences of maternal and child mortality in the country.

While commending the Federal Ministry of Health for engaging traditional rulers in mobilizing community support for primary health care delivery, she stressed the need to address social norms that limit women’s knowledge and skills in health care services.

Mrs. Suleiman explained that her ministry is currently engaged in advocacy to all the tiers of government to ensure that there is renewed political and financial commitments at all levels towards improving maternal and child care, and other related issues to the advancement of the less privileged.

The minister maintained: “Indeed, no society can advance without investing large proportions of its resources on health and well being of its citizenry, and no nation can become great unless its children, who are leaders of tomorrow, are protected and allowed to survive and develop in an enabling environment”.

She said the two ministries shared many things in common including the responsibility of providing health and other related services to women, children, and persons with disabilities, older citizens and other vulnerable groups, describing their joint collaboration as critical towards achieving the national goals.

The minister, while lamenting the position of Nigeria among countries with the highest cases of maternal and child mortality, asserted that “this trend must be reversed if we are to meet our national goals and global undertakings, particularly Goals 3 and 4 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.

According to Mrs. Suleiman, it was in the light of this that that her ministry was granted funds under the 2009 budget to compliment the Federal Ministry of Health’s initiatives towards improving the maternal and child health, particularly at the grassroots.

Collaboration between the two ministries, she noted would provide a strong synergy in executing their programmes to enhance the welfare of Nigerians, advising the Federal Ministry of Health to put the interest of women, children, people living with disabilities, and the aged in all its policies and initiatives.

Responding, the Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin described the initiative of the collaboration as a unique step towards enhancing national development, promising the cooperation of his ministry for the success of the new efforts.

For the initiative to succeed, he, however, stressed the need for more resources and girl- child education, explaining that “the more population of educated women, the better for the country, because many Nigerians will be trained”
Osotimehin also emphasized the need to educate and sensitize the men on their roles and responsibilities without assuming that they were perfect human beings, and commended the activities of civil groups in correcting the ills of the society.