ABUJA: The Coordinating HOME | Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, revealed that over 16,000 Nigerian doctors have migrated abroad in the past five to seven years in search of better opportunities.
He also highlighted that the doctor-to-population ratio in the country has now dropped to 3.9 per 10,000, while the cost of training a single doctor exceeds $21,000.
Pate also lamented the increasing number of nurses and midwives leaving the country, contributing to a further depletion of healthcare workers in Nigeria.
The Minister made these statements during the seventh annual capacity building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) held in Abuja on Tuesday. The workshop was themed “Integrated healthcare regulation and leadership in building resilient health systems.
According to Pate, more and more of Nigeria’s skilled healthcare professionals are aspiring to work abroad due to factors like better economic opportunities, improved working conditions, enhanced training, and superior research environments.
While migration of healthcare professionals from developing nations is not new, it has accelerated in recent years. Over the past five to seven years alone, more than 16,000 doctors are estimated to have left Nigeria, with thousands more departing in just the last few years.
The number of nurses and midwives has also diminished. The current doctor-to-population ratio stands at 3.9 per 10,000, which is well below the recommended global minimum.
This trend is not just about the loss of people; it represents a significant financial drain, Pate remarked. The cost of training one doctor is over $21,000, which highlights the immense public investment leaving our country. This situation severely impacts our health systems, leaving many rural areas underserved.
He emphasized, however, that this phenomenon also presents an opportunity to rethink and reshape policies that manage the health workforce in ways that primarily benefit the country.
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“In Nigeria, with the guidance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu—appointed as the African Union’s Continental Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery—we are pursuing a new path. His vision is for Nigeria to be a prosperous, people-focused nation, interconnected with neighboring countries. Through the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, we are combining strategic realism with visionary ambition to chart a new course.
Pate further explained that the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration plays a central role in this new approach. The policy is aimed at addressing health workforce migration with dignity, ensuring the rights of health professionals to seek international opportunities while safeguarding the integrity of the national health system. The policy is data-driven, evidence-based, and seeks to balance the country’s needs with those of healthcare professionals.
The policy’s objectives are clear: to retain and motivate health workers serving in Nigeria under difficult conditions, establish ethical recruitment frameworks, expand training capacity to meet both local and global needs, support the reintegration of Nigerian professionals abroad, and strengthen governance and regulatory systems with real-time data collection.
Pate also called for African countries to take the lead in creating a new global framework on health workforce mobility. This framework should be built on pan-African training and accreditation standards, shared data, and continental platforms for negotiation with destination countries. The Minister stressed the need for sustained investments in Africa’s healthcare professionals.
The President of AMCOA, Prof. Joel Okullo, underscored the importance of collaboration among African countries to address healthcare challenges and enhance regulation and leadership across the continent. He expressed confidence that the workshop would produce actionable strategies to improve healthcare services in Africa.
This year’s theme reflects our commitment to tackling the diverse challenges within health regulation, Okullo said. The workshop will empower AMCOA members and associates with the skills needed to make informed decisions in the coming year. Our focus will include managing health workforce mobility, improving credentialing, and strengthening data management systems.
Dr. Fatima Kyari, Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, welcomed participants to the event and noted that this was Nigeria’s first AMCOA workshop. She praised the alignment of leadership towards patient safety and healthcare improvement.
Prof. Afolabi Lesi, Chairperson of the MDCN Board, highlighted the need for healthcare regulators to adhere to global standards while adjusting to local contexts. Lesi, also the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee for the workshop, addressed the challenges posed by fragmented professional relationships, which hinder effective implementation and compromise patient care.
“Despite clear directions at the governance level, the implementation of actions is often hampered by fragmented relationships among healthcare workers who should be collaborating as a team, with patient well-being and safety as the central focus,” Lesi said.
