President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the National Health Workforce Policy, aimed at transforming Nigeria’s healthcare system and reintegrating diaspora professionals into the sector, News About Nigeria reports.
The policy, officially named the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, was announced in a press release by the Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate.
According to Pate, the policy is designed to address the critical challenges posed by the migration of healthcare professionals, with a focus on building a resilient and well-supported workforce.
“This afternoon, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a landmark policy set to transform healthcare human resource management in Nigeria,” Pate stated.
The newly established policy goes beyond simply responding to the ongoing exodus of healthcare professionals from Nigeria.
It offers a comprehensive strategy to manage, harness, and reverse health worker migration, ensuring that the healthcare workforce is well-supported, adequately rewarded, and effectively utilised to meet the needs of all Nigerians.
The approval of this policy comes amid growing concerns over the declining number of practicing doctors in the country.
In April, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) raised alarms about the low rate of doctors renewing their annual practice licences in 2023.
Out of 130,000 registered doctors in Nigeria, only 58,000—representing just 45 percent—renewed their licences, a reflection of the increasing migration of doctors seeking better opportunities abroad.
Victor Kolawole, Deputy Registrar of MDCN, voiced concerns over the mass exodus of medical professionals during the induction and oath-taking ceremony of the 2022–2023 Batch B medicine and surgery graduates of Edo State University.
“We presently have over 130,000 registered doctors in Nigeria. However, due to the increase in migration, only about 58,000 doctors renewed their annual practice licenses in 2023,” Kolawole noted.
