A U.S.- based Physician, Dr Terrance Baker, has charged Nigerians in diaspora to return home to build a more resilient healthcare system in the country.<\/P>
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Baker made the call at the 5th Annual International Conference of the Nigeria Association of Foreign Trained Pharmacists (NAFTraPh) on Thursday in Lagos.<\/P>
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Baker is a Johns Hopkins Community Physician, Department of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. and the Producer of Doctors in the House, a TV show in the U.S.<\/P>
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the three-day conference is: \u201cSocial Determinants of Health and Populations Health Outcomes in a Developing Economy- Nigeria\u2019s Perspective\u201d.<\/P>
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He urged the Nigerian government to welcome diasporans who want to return home to help make the country better, by creating enabling environment that would make them comfortable.<\/P>
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According to him, sending money back to the country is not enough to fix the country.<\/P>
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Baker noted that many Nigerians in the Americans and Europe were tremendously very influential, adding that they included men and women who were successful, financially.<\/P>
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\u201cMany of them send money home, but I believe that the diaspora should be encouraged to actually return home.<\/P>
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\u201cFor example, Nigerian pharmacists are going to get training and experience and are returning home to change the healthcare system.<\/P>
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\u201cI believe the diaspora must come home. I believe they can\u2019t improve Nigeria from afar, they can\u2019t rule, they can\u2019t manage it from a distance.<\/P>
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\u201cYou cannot manage your country from a thousand miles away, it is very hard.<\/P>
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\u201cThey need to come and be part of it; the diaspora need to invest in farming and farm equipment. They need to come and put their money to improve the food emergency.\u201d<\/P>
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He delivered a keynote address titled, \u201cSocial Determinants of Health and Populations, Health Outcomes in a Developing Economy \u2013 Nigeria\u2019s Perspective\u201d.<\/P>
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He said there were several concerns that caused healthcare to be poor in most parts of Nigeria.<\/P>
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He listed the concerns to include poverty, inadequate housing, inadequate water and sanitation, inadequate transportation, safety concerns of terrorism and violence.<\/P>
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\u201cI am happy to be here to deliver the keynote address at the 5th conference of internationally trained phamacists who have returned back to Nigeria to practice pharmacy.<\/P>
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\u201cToday, we discussed social determinate of healthcare and in Nigeria today, there several key concerns that cause healthcare to be poor throughout most of Nigeria.<\/P>
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\u201cFor example, 2.500 children between the ages of zero to 25 years will die today and most as a result of poverty, inadequate housing, inadequate water and sanitation, inadequate transportation, safety concerns of terrorism and violence.<\/P>
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\u201cNigeria is currently in the middle of a food insecurity emergency and I believe the emergency can be addressed.\u201d<\/P>
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According to him, Nigeria is in a position to be one of the greatest nations in the African continent.<\/P>
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\u201cI believe Nigeria uniquely has a workforce and has the resources necessary to lead the world.<\/P>
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\u201cNigerians in medicine, medical doctors in America, Europe and Asia lead the world in medicine.<\/P>
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\u201cPharmacist throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia, Europe lead the world in the care of patients in pharmacy and nursing.<\/P>
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\u201cNigerian nurses are a major workforce throughout the world caring for patients.<\/P>
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\u201cNigerians have proven that they have the unique capability in health and can also lead the world; either way, that determines a workforce for the entire world,\u201d he said.<\/P>
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Mrs Sherese ljewere, a Clinical Nutrition Consultant, talked on the need to improve child and maternal health not negating paternal health.<\/P>
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\u201cThe foetus origin of disease is ensuring that the mother\u2019s maternal health and the father\u2019s paternal health are good before pregnancy.\u201d<\/P>
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Ijewere, Founder\/CEO, Carib Health Ltd., a Health, Wellness, and Nutrition Company in Ikoyi, Lagos, urged couples to ensure that they are physically fit before, during and after pregnancy.<\/P>
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In her presentation titled: \u201cNutrition, Fetal Origin of Diseases, and Population\u2019s Health\u201d, she said they must consume lots of fruits and vegetables to maintain wellness.<\/P>
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She urged people to avoid processed, refined and sweetened food but consume whole food like tubers, roots, vegetables, fruits as well as engage in regular exercising.<\/P>
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She urged people to also have proper mindset and lifestyle.<\/P>
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She urged the government to empower more women and youths in urban farming to discourage them from consuming refined food.<\/P>
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Dr Anthony Ihenatu, Chairman\/ CEO, Archy Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Lagos, urged the Federal Government to address the issues of multiple taxation, multiple regulation, infrastructure, electricity and insecurity.<\/P>
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\u201cOther challenges that must be urgently addressed include increase in the price of raw materials and depreciation of Naira.<\/P>
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\u201cI believe the first thing the government should do is to save the Nigerian naira by doing what they have to do.<\/P>
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\u201c Nigerians are one of the best economists in the world.<\/P>
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\u201cThey know what to do to prop-up the value of the Naira,\u201d he said.<\/P>
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Ihenatu spoke on a paper titled, \u201cPharmaceutical industry practice during economic downturn: what is the way forward?\u201d.<\/P>
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Earlier, Dr John Ejezie, President, Nigeria Association of Foreign Trained Pharmacists (NAFTraPh), said that the association would continue to promote professional growth and development as well as sense of community service.<\/P>
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According to Ejieze, NAFTraPh is a professional organisation that educates, sensitises, trains members and others, creates health awareness, and promotes community capacity building and effective utilisation of pharmaceutical products.<\/P>
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He, however, urged the Federal Government to address the mirage of challenges facing the health sector and country in general.<\/P>
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He also urged the government to address the Naira and foreign exchange challenges.<\/P>
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\u201cIn 2023, we have continued to experience supply chain challenges, and paucity of goods and services especially in the healthcare sector.<\/P>
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\u201cCurrently, we experience high inflation rates that are at all time high.<\/P>
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\u201cThese socio-economic menaces are experienced across the globe, but developing economies are disproportionately impacted due to non-robust socio-economic structures that may not absorb such societal and economic shocks.<\/P>
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\u201cDespite all these societal menaces and socio-economic challenges, we cannot let those wonderful dreams and aspirations dissipate, or anyone or circumstance to kill it,\u201d he said. (NAN)<\/P>
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Source: News Agency of Nigeria<\/P>
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