Nigeria lost 16,000 doctors to japa in 7 years - FG

The Federal Government said that in the last five to seven years alone, not less than 16,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in search of greener pastures on faraway shores.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, made this known at the seventh annual capacity building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa in Abuja on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

The Minister also disclosed that the doctor-to-population ratio is now 3.9 per 10,000 in the country, while the estimated cost of training one doctor exceeds $21,000.

Meanwhile, he lamented that the mass exodus of nurses and midwives has also significantly diminished the number of healthcare workers in the country.

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According to Pate, an increasing number of Nigeria’s talented healthcare professionals aspire to work in other countries. He noted that these citizens are being driven by factors including economic opportunity, better working conditions, more advanced training, and superior research environments.

He said that though the migration of health professionals from developing countries isn't a new phenomenon, the trend has accelerated in recent years.

“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.

“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," the minister said.

Minister sees opportunity in Japa trend

However, Pate expressed belief that the trend offers the government an opportunity to recalibrate its policies and manage the valuable health workforce in ways that benefit the country first and foremost.

“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.

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“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 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 their 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," he added.