Japa: Nigeria loses 7,000 medical laboratory scientists — AMLSN

The President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, has said a recent audit revealed that about 7,000 medical laboratory scientists have left the country, warning that the development could affect the efficiency of healthcare delivery if urgent measures are not taken to strengthen the profession.

Ifeanyi, who raised the concern at the 61st Annual Scientific Conference and Workshop of the association in Minna, Niger State, called on the Federal Government to provide adequate funding and training opportunities to produce more medical laboratory scientists and address the growing manpower gap.

He said the departure of such a significant number of professionals was part of the brain drain affecting the country’s health sector, stressing that medical laboratory scientists remained indispensable to effective healthcare delivery.

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According to him, medical diagnosis begins in the laboratory, making the role of medical laboratory scientists critical to the work of other healthcare professionals, including medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses.

He explained that without adequately trained laboratory scientists to conduct tests and provide reliable diagnostic results, other professionals in the healthcare system might find it difficult to deliver effective and timely medical services.

The AMLSN president therefore stressed the need for the government to invest more in the training of medical laboratory scientists, noting that strengthening the profession would also improve the performance of other sections of the healthcare system.

He expressed concern that while the Federal Government had introduced a dedicated funding programme to support the training of medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses, medical laboratory scientists were excluded.

“There is a laudable programme supported with dedicated funding by the Federal Government for the training of medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses, but medical laboratory scientists were excluded from the programme.

“It is therefore necessary to appeal to the Federal Government to have a rethink over the imbalance created by the programme because a balanced approach to healthcare development ensures effective service delivery,” he said.

He maintained that investment in the training of medical laboratory scientists was essential to replenishing the workforce, addressing the impact of brain drain and ensuring that all components of the country’s healthcare system function effectively.