Over 16,000 doctors have left Nigeria; nurses, midwives also leaving – Health Minister raises alarm
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate has said over 16,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in the last five to seven years in search of greener pastures abroad.
According to Punch, the minister spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the seventh annual capacity-building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCA).
The workshop was themed: “Integrated healthcare regulation and leadership in building resilient health systems.”
Pate said the exodus of doctors has resulted in a doctor-to-population ratio of 3.9 per 10,000, which he noted is significantly below the global minimum.
The minister said the estimated cost of training one doctor exceeds $21,000, which represents a substantial fiscal loss for the country.
He cited factors such as economic opportunity, better working conditions, and superior research environments abroad for the exodus of doctors.
“In Nigeria alone, over 16,000 doctors are estimated to have left the country in the last five to seven years, with thousands more leaving in just the past few years. Nurses and midwives have also thinned in numbers,” he said.
The minister emphasised that this trend not only affects the healthcare system but also leaves many rural communities critically underserved.
Pate said he sees an opportunity under the administration of President Bola Tinubu to rethink and reshape policies to manage the health workforce in ways that benefit Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, guided by the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom African heads of state appointed as the AU’s Continental Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery, we are pursuing a new direction,” he said.
“His vision is for Nigeria to become a prosperous, people-oriented country that contributes to a peaceful and thriving continent. Not a standalone Nigeria, but a Nigeria that is interlinked with all our neighbours and sister countries.
“Under the renewed hope agenda, and within the framework of the Nigeria health sector renewal investment initiative, we have embraced a new path—combining strategic realism with visionary ambition.
“The national policy on health workforce migration is a cornerstone of this path. It is designed to address health workforce migration with dignity—dignity for health workers, for the country, and for the profession. It is data-driven, evidence-guided, and signals a clear direction.
“This is not a restrictive policy, nor is it one born out of resignation. We understand that the global health workforce shortage is at 18 million, and countries in the global north face human resource crises due to demographics and other factors.
“But our response is based on stewardship—balancing the rights of health professionals to seek opportunities abroad with our duty to protect the integrity and viability of our national health system.”
