Official figures show that no fewer than 20,966 Nigerian health workers, including doctors, nurses and other specialists, relocated abroad within one year, with the UK, US, Canada and Saudi Arabia remaining top destinations amid a worsening healthcare workforce crisis.
No fewer than 20,966 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year, official figures obtained by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.
The mass exodus includes 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and hundreds of other specialists, according to the State of Health of the Nation Report 2025.
The Punch reports that the growing migration came under the spotlight following revelations that a Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr Salamat Aliu-Ibrahim, had relocated to the United States, now serving as Medical Director, Paediatrics, at Freeman Children’s Clinic in Joplin, Missouri.
Data obtained from the UK’s General Medical Council showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026, with 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors currently licensed to practise in the UK.
President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, appealed to Nigerian diaspora medical professionals to attract more Nigerians back home to contribute to the country’s development.
An analysis of the report showed only 60,551 of Nigeria’s 95,456 registered doctors currently hold active practising licences — just 63 per cent — with only 51 per cent actively employed within the health system.
The nursing and midwifery workforce recorded the highest migration levels among all health professions, with only 113,123 of 267,951 registered nurses and midwives holding active licences, a ratio of 42 per cent, though 78 per cent of licensed nurses remain employed locally.
Other affected professions include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, optometrists and opticians, all recording significant migration figures.
Findings showed the UK remains the leading destination for Nigerian doctors and nurses, driven by easier registration, better pay and NHS shortages, with Nigeria now the third-largest source of foreign-trained doctors in the UK after India and Pakistan. Beyond the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also become increasingly attractive destinations for Nigerian healthcare professionals.
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