April 9, 2025/CSL Research
According to a Punch news report, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, speaking at the seventh annual capacity-building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa, revealed that over 16,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in the past five to seven years in search of better opportunities abroad.
He noted that Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio has dropped to 3.9 per 10,000 people, a troubling statistic considering the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum. Professor Pate also emphasized the high cost of training medical professionals, estimating that it takes over US$21,000 to train a single doctor. He further lamented the growing shortage of healthcare workers, as many nurses and midwives have also emigrated.
The phenomenon of brain drain has long been a challenge for Nigeria, but recent years have seen a marked increase in the emigration of skilled professionals. This surge is largely fuelled by visa programs introduced by developed countries, aimed at addressing their own labour shortages by attracting foreign talent. Many of the emigrants, often graduates of Nigerian universities, are seeking better career prospects, improved working conditions, and a higherquality of life in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Although the healthcare sector has been the most affected, other industries have not been spared. The financial services sector, for instance, has witnessed a significant outflow of skilled personnel, resulting in a shortage of qualified professionals. As a result, organizations are grappling with increased personnel costs, driven by the growing expense of recruiting and training new staff to fill the gaps left behind.
Despite the Nigerian government’s efforts to improve working conditions—such as salary increases for healthcare workers and investments in infrastructure—these initiatives remain limited in scope. Without comprehensive reforms that tackle deeper issues like economic instability, job insecurity, and weak governance, the emigration of skilled professionals is likely to continue. Although the rising cost of migration, especially following the devaluation of the Naira, has slightly curbed the number of emigrants, Nigeria is still expected to experience high levels of skilled migration in 2025 due to persistent economic, social, and political challenges.
However, if the government can implement effective and sustained reforms in key sectors such as healthcare, education, security, and economic development, there may be hope for reversing or at least slowing this trend in the long run. Without such reforms, the migration of skilled workers in search of better opportunities abroad will likely persist. Nigerian professionals—particularly in the healthcare and technology sectors—remain in high demand in developed countries, further incentivizing their departure.
Click here to download full report: CSL Nigeria Daily – 09 April 2025 – Japa syndrome .pdf
