Rich countries harvest 20,000 Nigerian health workers
No fewer than 20,966 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year, according to figures contained in the State of Health of the Nation Report 2025, underscoring the growing brain drain in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
The report revealed that those who left the country include 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and hundreds of other healthcare specialists. The trend came under renewed attention following the relocation of Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Salamat Aliu-Ibrahim, to the United States.
Data from the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council also showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026, bringing the total number of Nigerian-trained doctors licensed to practise in the UK to 15,896.
The report further showed that only 60,551 of Nigeria’s 95,456 registered doctors currently hold active practising licences, with just over half actively working within the country’s health system. Similarly, only 113,123 of the country’s 267,951 registered nurses and midwives possess active practising licences.
Other health professionals who migrated during the period include 431 optometrists, 658 physiotherapists, 21 occupational therapists and 18 opticians. The United Kingdom remains the leading destination for Nigerian health workers, while the United States, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also continue to attract Nigerian professionals with better pay, improved working conditions and greater career opportunities.
Several Nigerian-trained doctors abroad attributed their relocation to poor remuneration, unpaid salaries, insecurity, inadequate medical infrastructure and limited opportunities for career advancement. They maintained that meaningful reforms, improved welfare and better working conditions would be required to encourage many of them to return.
The National Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the continued exodus has significantly depleted Nigeria’s healthcare workforce, revealing that the number of resident doctors has dropped from about 20,000 a decade ago to 12,000. He warned that nearly 80 per cent of medical workers are considering relocating due to poor salaries, excessive workloads and insecurity.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has appealed to Nigerian medical professionals in the diaspora to encourage more of their colleagues to return home and contribute to national development. Speaking during a meeting with members of the Nigerian Diaspora Medical Associations at the State House, Abuja, on Friday, Tinubu said there was “nowhere like home” and urged them to support efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The relocation of Dr. Aliu-Ibrahim also sparked mixed reactions, with some Nigerians describing it as another major loss to the country’s healthcare sector, while others defended her decision, insisting that doctors should not be blamed for seeking better welfare, security and professional opportunities abroad.