Founder and Chief Govt Officer of ValueChain Academy within the U.S., Dr Imoh Okon, in an interview with GLORIA NWAFOR, reckons that important abilities migration is a world phenomenon. However opposite to the mind drain perspective alone, therein additionally abound alternatives for Nigerians to accumulate world publicity in training and expertise for the event of the house nation, if the setting could be accommodating for important abilities importation.
Abilities migration is without doubt one of the tendencies of globalisation, but it surely appears to be an exodus codenamed japa in creating nations like Nigeria. Why is that so?
As you rightly famous, migration will not be a brand new phenomenon because it has existed for hundreds of years. Folks migrate because of a number of causes, together with for instance battle and insecurity, famine, or to hunt financial, training or profession alternatives.
Africa is blessed with each human and pure sources, nonetheless in a number of cases, its vibrant and hardworking youthful inhabitants lacks ample alternatives to fulfill their instructional and profession aspirations. We all know that innovation can come from wherever and I’ve witnessed some superb, revolutionary options popping out of resource-constrained African communities lately.
Nonetheless, with out an enabling setting and assist system, like entry to capital, expertise, electrical energy, and so forth, a number of novel endeavours have failed to fulfill or attain the specified potential. It’s subsequently not shocking that bold people would naturally gravitate in direction of alternatives that assist the expression of their skills, together with instructional development {and professional} improvement.
Whereas it’s mind drain on this a part of the world, it’s mind acquire for others. With related experiences in superior nations, what lesson can the Nigerian State be taught to reverse the pattern?
For my part this pattern, once more, will not be solely new and pertains to the search for alternatives. Folks will at all times gravitate in direction of areas of “perceived” higher alternatives. With the UK, a number of elements have contributed to the stress on its healthcare system, together with Brexit, incapability to graduate enough numbers of medical professionals to fulfill the growing wants of its inhabitants, insufficient healthcare investments and funding, extreme workload plus poor remuneration of medical doctors and nurses. Moreover, the British healthcare supply mannequin might turn into unsustainable with out vital coverage modifications. A serious advantage of a “free” healthcare system is that it ensures entry to each citizen and certified residents, nonetheless, it might be susceptible to lengthy waitlists for sure medical procedures, plus inherent abuse, and waste throughout the system.
In the US, there are additionally challenges with optimum supply of healthcare providers. Points comparable to entry, medical health insurance, fairness and prices stay vital challenges throughout the U.S. healthcare system.
To focus medical doctors’ effort on areas of urgent wants, different skilled medical professionals, comparable to Doctor Assistants and Nursing Practitioners are tasked with dealing with routine medical points or offering first-line contact with sufferers previous to seeing a doctor. Moreover, a spotlight in direction of preventive fairly than reactive medication is being promoted. For instance, some medical health insurance firms provide monetary rewards or incentives to members that undertake yearly preventive medical screenings, whereas penalising people who smoke or using tobacco merchandise.
Extra well being initiatives have banned cigarette smoking in sure public locations, whereas bodily actions and wholesome diets are strongly inspired. Little question, nations must adapt to make sure equitable supply and distribution of healthcare sources.
A type of sectors worst-hit is healthcare. As a medical knowledgeable within the U.S., how can this be addressed?
The brief reply to the query is that Nigeria wants elevated funding and funding throughout the well being sector. Healthcare is each a enterprise and a service and subsequently, the federal government can’t do it alone. Along with elevated funding, the federal government (native, state, and federal) wants to supply management, encourage non-public investments and partnerships, plus coverage steering that tackle root causes of present healthcare challenges. We frequently equate well being to the precise presence or manifestation of illness or sickness, but it surely encompasses rather more. A number of elements straight influence well being, together with housing, transportation, training, setting, earnings, and rather more. Collectively, these elements represent “social determinants of well being”. Moreover, there are business determinants of well being.
Given the abysmally poor doctor-to-patient ratio, are there alternatives to extend the variety of graduating medical professionals (medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical laboratory technicians, and many others.)? Can tangible enhancements be effected to reinforce medical and scientific analysis, enhance the numbers and high quality of neighborhood well being centres, and eradicate faux and counterfeit medicines?
Extra areas that may yield tangible advantages embrace assist for persevering with medical {and professional} training, concentrating on College Educating Hospitals as hubs for greatest apply and innovation, regulation of well being services and diagnostics labs, safe well being file techniques, accredited and well-staffed pharmacies as hubs for routine providers comparable to, vaccinations, tools buy and upkeep, and enough coaching of medical and technical personnel. These require vital investments however are a snapshot of achievable options. Importantly, expertise can allow higher coordination, accountability, and significant outcomes of those initiatives.
How is your Academy serving to to dimension the Japa paradox?
ValueChain Academy operates globally and addresses particular gaps that impinge on instructional development, skilled improvement, and profession alternatives. Given the abundance of pure sources and human capital throughout Africa, we hope that by growing instructional and coaching alternatives of the colourful youthful inhabitants, we will stem and even reverse the Japa paradox. China, Russia, and a number of other European nations are in Africa for a cause. The pure sources, youthful inhabitants and client market might be discovered right here which kinds a magnet and engaging mixture for companies!
Subsequently, a extremely educated and expert workforce can energy the continent into an period of sustainable improvement and financial prosperity. We consider that it takes a village or neighborhood to boost a toddler! We consider that school rooms aren’t the “start-to-end” of studying. Subsequently, we deliver a combinatorial and coordinated mix of distinctive studying alternatives and sources that problem, encourage, and maximise pupil’s instructional development and long-term profession success. We cater to highschool, undergraduate and graduate college students by constructing tailor-made packages and extremely aggressive portfolios to assist their profession aspirations.
Don’t neglect, I obtained my doctorate diploma from Imperial School London, and with over 23 years of instructional and profession experiences in each the US and the UK, I perceive first-hand that information switch is drastically amplified when coupled to real-world utility and mentorship alternatives.
Along with supporting college students’ educational actions, we offer further sources, comparable to STEM tasks, internship alternatives and trade visits, summer time camps, profession festivals, and rather more. The aim is to make sure that our college students stay aggressive relative to their friends in North America, Europe, South Korea, Japan, China, and different components of the world.
Why is that this vital? We consider that robust educational grades, along with a stable and well-rounded portfolio current a number of advantages. For instance, such college students are higher positioned for admission into aggressive packages throughout top-tier universities, turn into engaging candidates for aggressive scholarships, develop a excessive stage of self-awareness and demanding pondering abilities, acquire confidence, and are well-conditioned for world profession alternatives.
We additionally get pleasure from strategic partnerships with a number of stakeholders within the worldwide and profession ecosystems, together with Schools, Universities, and multi-national organisations, to increase internship alternatives for our college students, firm executives and professionals that present mentorship and profession recommendation, and rather more.
As well as, remaining related in a dynamic and extremely aggressive jobs market requires a steady studying mindset. Subsequently, we offer coaching to acquire certifications in a number of on-demand job areas, comparable to Challenge/Program Administration, Regulatory Science (medical trials), Healthcare Informatics, Local weather and Environmental Well being, and Healthcare Finance.