Angela Onwuzoo
The new President of the World Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has called for more investment in the well-being, working, and living conditions of physicians and other health professionals.
This, he said, will help reduce the physical and mental burn-out of physicians.
Dr. Enabulele, a former president of the Nigerian Medical Association and Commonwealth Medical Association, made the call on Friday during his inaugural address at the WMA’s annual Assembly in Berlin, Germany.
Nigeria’s Dr. Enabulele who was at the annual Assembly installed as the first West African president of the WMA, said investing in physicians and other health professionals will also tackle brain drain in countries experiencing a shortage of health personnel.
Addressing the Assembly, the new WMA president said, “This is to help reduce or eliminate physical and mental burn-out of physicians, and the brain drain of physicians and other health professionals, especially from already under-served countries.”
He added that “coming from an under-represented and poorly understood African continent that is largely deprived of quality healthcare”, he considered his election as WMA President as an opportunity to enhance the well-being, rights, and professional autonomy of physicians across the globe.
Enabulele also said his leadership will strengthen countries’ healthcare systems through universal health coverage, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the mitigation of the effects of climate change.
According to him, “The safety of physicians and other health care providers was one of the four key lessons that the world and the medical profession should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The other three being the need to build resilient health systems, human resources for health, and the public communication and engagement of physicians.”
He said that in building resilient health systems, the WMA had to continue to champion the need for global solidarity in health, equitable access to vaccines and drug treatments, including their research and development, and appropriate investment in health systems.
“The WMA should be an untiring advocate of global public health interventions to reduce or eliminate the staggering health inequities and inequalities, across the globe,” he noted.
In her valedictory speech, the outgoing WMA President, Dr. Heidi Stensmyren, said that thousands of physicians were leaving the profession early.
“Many, if not most, have left due to fear, burnout, and the often overlooked feeling of helplessness, worried that they can no longer make a difference,” she added.
She said she was deeply concerned about the growing violence against physicians, often involving patients or relatives.
Stensmyren also expressed concern about attacks on healthcare personnel in conflicts.
“Healthcare is a vital part of society, and healthcare workers should be considered “neutral” in any conflict. Instead, we have become targets.
“The attacks on healthcare facilities have reached never-before-seen levels. The crimes against civilians and those who care for others are horrible. It is a global disgrace,” she said.
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