Heads of major African medical and dental regulatory bodies are convening in Rwanda for the next three days to examine difficulties facing the continent’s healthcare profession, the most important of which is brain drain and a critically low doctor-to-patient ratio.
The meeting is being held under the auspices of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA), an organization that brings together African medical regulatory bodies with the primary goal of assisting them in protecting the public interest.
Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister of Health, spoke at the event’s inauguration, citing poor doctor-to-patient ratios and quality challenges as important factors affecting healthcare in Africa. He urged his regulatory counterparts to find solutions to these problems.
“We have the world’s smallest healthcare workforce of any continent.” “The doctor-to-patient ratio is far too low, and it drops even further in specialized fields like surgery,” he says.
“We have struggled for decades as a continent to bridge this gap, and what is happening is that we are leaving this task to future generations.” So, the assignment I’d want to assign you is to “please help Africa change the way we train our healthcare workers in terms of both quantity and quality,” he said.
According to him, the precise topic that physicians should be having is how they can quickly deliver what the continent is needing.
According to him, the precise topic that physicians should be having is how they can quickly deliver what the continent is needing. For example, he alluded to the need to address the migration of patients who travel overseas just to seek imaging services, as if it were impossible to bring such technology to Africa.
Guido Gasana, Chairman of the Rwanda Medical and Dental Association, raised similar reservations.
“We have yet to achieve the globally recommended ratio of one doctor per 1000 people.” “We need to talk about how we can increase our numbers so that we have medics at the grassroots level so that our citizens can get good medication,” he said.
He also alluded to the necessity to discuss brain drain and possible remedies to its causes in Africa.
“We want to share information about the measures that we are attempting to implement in our respective countries.” “At the end of the conference, we will prepare a report on our discussions and submit it to the Ministry of Health,” he stated.
AMCOA President Simon Nemutandani stated that the conference is being held to discuss best practices throughout Africa and to aim to effect revolutionary change in the continent’s healthcare scene.
He also alluded to the necessity to discuss brain drain and possible remedies to its causes in Africa.
“We want to share information about the measures that we are attempting to implement in our respective countries.” “At the end of the conference, we will prepare a report on our discussions and submit it to the Ministry of Health,” he stated.
AMCOA President Simon Nemutandani stated that the conference is being held to discuss best practices throughout Africa and to aim to effect revolutionary change in the continent’s healthcare scene.
“The treatment of our political leaders in Europe should come to an end.” We are ensuring that Africa has qualified, competent physicians and health practitioners. “We must ensure that our citizens do not have to spend money traveling to Europe for treatment,” he said.
The conference will take place between Monday, September 4 and Wednesday, September 7.
