JAPA: ”16,000 Nigerian Doctors Left The Country In 7 Years”- Minister Of Health, Prof Muhammad Pate

Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has said that around 16000 Nigerian doctors left the nation in pursuit of better possibilities within the past five to seven years.

He noted that several elements, including improved working circumstances, economic possibilities, increased training, and research environments abroad, contribute to this mass emigration.

Speaking Tuesday at the seventh annual capacity building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Abuja, Pate laments the further weakening of Nigeria’s already precarious healthcare system resulting from the migration of healthcare professionals—including nurses and midwives.

Particularly in rural areas where the demand for healthcare is critical, he pointed out that this mass departure has left hospitals throughout the nation dangerously understaffed.

Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has said that around 16000 Nigerian doctors left the nation in pursuit of better possibilities within the past five to seven years.

He noted that several elements, including improved working circumstances, economic possibilities, increased training, and research environments abroad, contribute to this mass emigration.

Speaking Tuesday at the seventh annual capacity building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Abuja, Pate laments the further weakening of Nigeria’s already precarious healthcare system resulting from the migration of healthcare professionals—including nurses and midwives.

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He pointed out that this tremendous exodus has left hospitals throughout the nation dangerously understaffed, especially in rural areas where healthcare is absolutely vital.

“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. The doctor-to-population ratio now stands at around 3.9 per 10,000—well below the suggested global minimum.“

He further noted that the cost of teaching one doctor in Nigeria comes out to be more than $21,000, so the government suffers a major financial loss when skilled experts leave.

The minister underlined that the mass exodus results in a loss of public investment in addition to a personnel loss.

“But this trend is not just about people leaving. It represents a fiscal loss. The estimated cost of training one doctor exceeds $21,000—a figure that reflects the magnitude of public financing walking out of our countries. It deeply affects our health systems—leaving many of our rural communities critically underserved.”

Pate stressed, meanwhile, that this trend of doctors leaving Nigeria also offers a chance for transformation in the country.

He demanded that policies be developed that strike a compromise between the country’s obligation to keep a strong, functional health system and the rights of health workers seeking possibilities elsewhere.

“In Nigeria, guided by the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who 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.

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,” he said.

“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.”

“The objectives are clear – To retain and motivate health workers currently serving in Nigeria—thousands of whom work under difficult conditions; to establish ethical norms and explore bilateral frameworks for recruitment, aiming to correct global asymmetries; to expand training capacity—not only for domestic needs, but to contribute to global workforce needs, to enable structured reintegration for the thousands of Nigerian professionals abroad; and to strengthen governance, improve regulatory coordination, and build real-time data systems.”

Prof. Pate also advocated for African countries to work together to address the problem of healthcare staff mobility.

To guarantee healthcare workers that relocate are well-regulated and supported, he advised African leaders to cooperate on establishing a continent-wide framework for training, accreditation, and data management.

Prof. Joel Okullo, AMCOA President, underlined throughout the workshop the importance of more African nations working together to enhance healthcare services and handle issues with healthcare workforce management.

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Prof. Afolabi Lesi, the Board Chairperson, and Dr. Fatima Kyari, the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) were also at the event.

While Prof. Lesi discussed the difficulties healthcare authorities confront, especially the shattered relationships among health professionals that impede cooperation and impair patient care, Dr. Kyari noted Nigeria’s effective hosting of its inaugural AMCOA session.

“The reality is that while we have committed and clear directions at the level of governance, implementation of actions is bedevilled by the fractioned and fractious relationship among health workers who ought to be working as a team, with the patient (well-being and safety) as the primary focus of all our actions,” he said.

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