Mo Ibrahim: Nigeria, Others Lose $2bn Annually through Brain Drain in Health Sector

The latest report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has disclosed that Nigeria and other countries in Africa loses about $2 billion annually through brain drain in the health sector

The report stressed that no sound governance in Africa can be achieved without strong public services.

The foundation stated this in its 2018 Ibrahim Forum Report titled: “Public Service in Africa.”

The report is expected to form discussion at the 2018 Ibrahim Forum holding in Rwanda next Saturday.

According the report, only three countries - Libya, Mauritius and Tunisia, have at least one doctor per 1,000 people.

It noted that covering the void left by public services, private security, private education, and private health were rising exponentially, with the risk of widening inequalities on the continent

Furthermore, it showed that five out of the 10 African countries with the largest public health expenditures as a percentage of total government expenditure were also among the 10 countries with the highest share of external financing of their total health expenditure

In addition, it pointed out that between 30 and 50 per cent of Africa’s total tax liability remained uncollected.

“Personal Safety is the most deteriorated of the 14 sub-categories in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, over the past decade.

“Twenty-two per cent of Africa’s population who had contact with a public service in 2015 said they paid a bribe, mostly to the police and the courts.