Save Nigeria’s bleeding health sector

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NIGERIA’S healthcare system is bleeding profusely, and the latest figures underscore the urgency of decisive action.

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On July 25, Saturday PUNCH reported, based on official figures contained in the State of Health of the Nation Report 2025, that at least 20,966 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year.

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The exodus comprised 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and hundreds of other specialists.

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These are not just numbers. They represent years of training, public investment, invaluable experience and expertise that Nigeria can ill afford to lose.

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The issue received renewed public attention following the relocation of a Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Salamat Aliu-Ibrahim, to the United States, where she now serves as Medical Director, Paediatrics, at Freeman Children’s Clinic under Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri.

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Her decision to leave Nigeria and begin a new medical career path abroad resonated deeply because it involved one of the country’s foremost specialists, illustrating that even highly accomplished professionals no longer see a sustainable future in Nigeria’s ghostly healthcare system.

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Before asking those who have left to return, the government must first make the country worth returning to. Tragically, the migration trend has become too significant to ignore. Some will argue that it has reached catastrophic proportions.

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Data obtained by Saturday PUNCH from the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026.

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The register now contains 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors, comprising 9,664 males and 6,232 females, currently licensed to practise in the UK. Nigeria has become one of the world’s leading exporters of medical talent, not by design but by circumstance.

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The depletion of the country’s medical workforce is stark. Although Nigeria has 95,456 registered doctors, only 60,551 currently possess active practising licences, representing 63 per cent of those registered. More disturbing is that only 51 per cent of licensed doctors are actively employed within Nigeria’s health system.

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The nursing profession presents an equally worrying picture. Nigeria has 267,951 registered nurses and midwives, comprising 73,130 nurses, 21,031 midwives and 173,790 nurses with post-basic qualifications.

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Yet only 113,123 currently possess active practising licences, representing just 42 per cent of those registered. Of those licensed, only 78 per cent remain employed within the country.

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According to figures from the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council, more than 16,000 Nigerian nurses and midwives are now practising in Britain.

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In 2023, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives stated that over 75,000 nurses and midwives migrated from Nigeria within five years due to poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions.

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The brain drain extends beyond doctors and nurses. The report revealed that 658 physiotherapists have migrated, leaving only 852 of Nigeria’s 8,642 registered physiotherapists with active practising licences.

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Twenty-one occupational therapists have also relocated abroad, while only 11 of the country’s 176 registered occupational therapists currently possess active licences. There are 257 registered occupational therapist assistants, but only 51 are licensed to practise.

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Similarly, 431 optometrists have emigrated, leaving only 2,156 of the country’s 6,975 registered optometrists with active licences. Among opticians, only 307 of 2,976 registered professionals currently hold practising licences, while 18 have migrated.

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The consequences are devastating for citizens. Medical tourism gulps about $1 billion annually. Local hospitals are overcrowded, many resorting to herbs and traditional healing homes.

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The United Kingdom remains the principal destination for Nigerian health workers because of its structured specialist training, attractive remuneration, clear career progression and better working conditions.

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Although recruitment has slowed somewhat since 2025, Nigeria remains one of the major source countries for overseas-trained healthcare workers in the UK.

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The United States, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also become increasingly attractive destinations, offering competitive salaries, better-equipped hospitals, safer environments and greater professional fulfilment.

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The figures tell a painful story, but the reasons behind them are hardly new. Nigerian health professionals have repeatedly identified poor salaries, delayed wages, deteriorating hospital infrastructure, obsolete equipment, insecurity, excessive workloads, limited opportunities for career advancement and poor welfare packages as the principal factors driving migration.

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Many also seek safer societies, better educational opportunities for their children and a higher quality of life. It is unrealistic to expect them to sacrifice these aspirations indefinitely in the name of patriotism.

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Nigeria has invested billions of naira over several decades in training doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and other healthcare professionals. Watching these scarce human resources strengthen health systems elsewhere while millions of Nigerians grapple with inadequate healthcare is both economically unsound and morally troubling.

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The continued depletion of skilled personnel threatens universal health coverage, increases waiting times, weakens specialist care and ultimately places millions of lives at greater risk.

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Little wonder that Nigeria’s average life expectancy ranks amongst the lowest globally at approximately 54.6 to 54.9 years, significantly behind African continental peers such as Ghana (63.7 to 66.1 years), Kenya (62 to 64.2 years), and Tunisia (76.5 years).

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It is also far below the global average of 73.7 years and the continental average of 64.2 years.

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President Bola Tinubu, while receiving members of the Nigerian Diaspora Medical Associations Worldwide during the 2026 National Diaspora Day celebration recently, appealed to healthcare professionals abroad to return and help transform Nigeria’s health sector.

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He pledged sustained investment in medical education, digital health infrastructure and improved welfare conditions. Drawing from his own experience of returning to Nigeria after living abroad, he reminded the professionals that “there’s nowhere like home.”

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The sentiment is noble. Indeed, many Nigerians in the Diaspora retain emotional ties to their homeland and are willing to contribute to national development.

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However, emotional attachment cannot substitute for sound public policy. Skilled professionals make career decisions based on practical realities, not patriotic rhetoric alone.

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Asking doctors to return to hospitals lacking modern equipment, reliable electricity, essential drugs and adequate staffing is unlikely to yield the desired outcome.

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The federal and state governments must move beyond appeals and confront the structural deficiencies that have fuelled the exodus. Competitive remuneration is indispensable.

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Healthcare workers should not have to struggle for months to receive salaries or allowances. Public hospitals require urgent rehabilitation and modern equipment to enable professionals to practise effectively.

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Training institutions must expand residency slots, specialist programmes and research opportunities to reduce frustration among young professionals.

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Security within hospitals and across the country also requires significant improvement, while health budgets should reflect the critical importance of healthcare to national development rather than remain chronically underfunded.

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Beyond improving domestic conditions, the Nigerian government should adopt a more strategic approach to engaging the Diaspora.

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Many Nigerian health professionals abroad may not be ready for permanent relocation, but they can contribute through short-term medical missions, specialist training, telemedicine, collaborative research and investment in healthcare infrastructure.

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Creating structured programmes that encourage such contributions would produce more sustainable results than appeals for permanent return alone.

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If the current trend persists, Nigeria risks reaching a point where the shortage of qualified personnel becomes irreversible. The Tinubu administration still has an opportunity to alter this trajectory, but time is running out.

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Saving Nigeria’s healthcare system requires more than hopeful speeches. It demands bold reforms, sustained investment and genuine commitment to creating an environment where healthcare professionals can thrive.

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Until that happens, the brain drain will continue, and the country’s fragile health system will keep bleeding.

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