Nigeria health worker crisis deepens as minister warns of mass migration, doctor shortages and strain on healthcare system at global summit

Nigeria is facing a deepening Nigeria health worker crisis as the mass migration of medical professionals continues to strain the country’s fragile healthcare system, Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, has warned.

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Dr Salako raised the alarm while delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Global Health Summit held at the Royal College of Physicians in London, where he described the exodus of Nigerian health workers, widely known as “japa”, as a pressing and urgent challenge.

According to the minister, Nigeria currently has about four doctors per 10,000 people, significantly below the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark of at least 10 physicians per 10,000 population.

“The global health workforce crisis is not a future threat but a present emergency,” Dr Salako said.

“Africa carries more than a quarter of the global disease burden but commands less than three per cent of the global health workforce.”

He noted that the situation is particularly acute in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, where shortages of doctors, nurses, midwives and other health professionals have reached alarming levels.

Citing data from the United Kingdom, Dr Salako disclosed that 13,609 Nigerian health workers migrated to the UK between 2021 and 2022, underscoring the scale of the workforce drain.

A 2023 survey by NOI Polls and Nigeria Health Watch further revealed that 57 per cent of Nigerian doctors had taken concrete steps towards leaving the country.

The minister described the trend as a significant economic loss, noting that each doctor trained in Nigeria represents a public investment exceeding $200,000.

“Every doctor who leaves Nigeria represents a substantial flight of invested public resources,” he said, adding that the migration effectively transfers scarce resources to wealthier nations.

Nigeria’s healthcare system, which serves a population of over 220 million people, continues to grapple with inadequate funding, weak infrastructure and limited access to quality care, particularly in rural communities.

To address the crisis, Dr Salako said the Federal Government had launched reforms under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, built on the principle of “One Plan, One Budget, and One Conversation” to improve coordination and accountability.

He also highlighted efforts to expand training capacity, revealing that medical school admissions increased by about 160 per cent between 2023 and 2025, alongside similar growth in the training of nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists.

In addition, the government is strengthening community health worker programmes and implementing task-shifting policies to improve service delivery in underserved areas.

Dr Salako said Nigeria is also seeking to leverage its diaspora workforce, describing Nigerian health professionals abroad as a “strategic asset.”

He disclosed that seven diaspora health associations across the UK, United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and South Africa are planning a coordinated medical mission in Nigeria between April and July.

The initiative is expected to focus on knowledge transfer, skills development and institutional support, as part of broader efforts to mitigate the Nigeria health worker crisis.

The minister further called for stronger global cooperation, urging developed countries to adhere to ethical recruitment standards under the WHO Global Code of Practice and to support nations that train health workers who later migrate.

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“No nation can solve the global health workforce crisis alone. Strengthening health systems in developing countries is not charity — it is global security,” he said.