Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate has raised serious concerns over the accelerating exodus of healthcare professionals from Africa, calling it a “fiscal drain, a systemic weakness and a profound moral challenge.”
Speaking at the 7th Annual Capacity Building Workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Abuja, Pate noted that although the migration of health workers is not a new phenomenon, its current intensity poses an unprecedented threat to health systems across the continent.
“We are confronted with a paradox. It represents a fiscal loss, a systemic weakening, and a moral imperative,” he declared, underscoring the multi-dimensional impact of the brain drain crisis.
Pate revealed that more than 16,000 Nigerian doctors have emigrated over the past five to seven years, with thousands of nurses and midwives following suit. This mass departure, he explained, has left Nigeria grappling with a dangerously low doctor-to-population ratio of just 3.9 per 10,000 people, well below the global minimum standard.
Beyond the human resource implications, Pate also quantified the financial loss. He estimated the cost of training a single doctor at over $21,000, highlighting that the country loses millions of dollars in human capital investments when these professionals leave without ethical recruitment processes or plans for reintegration.
In response to the crisis, Pate unveiled Nigeria’s National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, a flagship strategy within the broader ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda and Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
“This policy is not about imposing restrictions. It is about upholding dignity – for the health worker, for our country and the profession,” he explained.
He said the policy’s objectives include motivating and retaining current health workers despite prevailing challenges, fostering ethical recruitment through formal bilateral agreements, and expanding training capacity to meet both domestic and international demands.
Additional goals, he noted, include creating reintegration pathways for Nigerian health professionals abroad, enhancing governance of regulatory bodies and strengthening real-time data systems to monitor the health workforce.
Over the past year alone, the government has retrained over 60,000 frontline health workers, with an ambitious target of reaching 120,000. Medical and allied health training quotas have also been doubled as part of efforts to replenish the workforce.
Pate acknowledged the geographical imbalance in health worker distribution, noting that over 40 percent of Nigeria’s doctors are concentrated in Lagos and Abuja. “We cannot compel relocation, but we can incentivise it – with housing, digital connectivity and workplace dignity,” he said.
He also emphasised the value of engaging the Nigerian medical diaspora. Pate celebrated the increasing number of Nigerian doctors, oncologists and surgeons returning to establish world-class health facilities in cities like Lagos and Maiduguri.
He referenced the ongoing conference of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) in Lagos as a promising sign of diaspora engagement and renewed commitment to nation-building.
Pate highlighted the role of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), which is spearheading efforts to regulate recruitment practices, support returning professionals, and harmonise health worker regulations across African countries.
“We are not seeking to halt migration. Our goal is to build a health system robust enough that our professionals feel no compulsion to leave – or to settle for less elsewhere,” he affirmed.
He called on African countries to collectively develop a continental framework for workforce mobility grounded in shared standards, ethical recruitment practices, investment in training, and strategic negotiations with destination countries.
“This is our moment. Not for nostalgia, but for bold reform. From brain drain to brain gain, from loss to strengthening our systems – Africa must lead the way,” Pate concluded.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Sununu advocated for self-reliance and sustainability in healthcare systems. He stressed the need for building capacity to ensure health services can operate independently while still benefiting from international collaboration.
“Businesses or services cannot function for free indefinitely. The focus must be on developing sustainable models that do not overly depend on external support,” Sununu advised.
President of AMCOA, Prof. Joel Okullo underscored the importance of retaining African-trained medical professionals to serve their communities and strengthen continental health systems.
“We know what it costs to train a doctor – it’s around two thousand dollars. But more importantly, we are not training doctors for export. We are training them to serve our people,” Okullo emphasised.
He acknowledged the emerging collaborative strategies led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which aim to harness the individual strengths of African nations to bolster continental health security.
“Nigeria may excel in disease surveillance, while others may lead in epidemiology. The question is: how do we merge these strengths for the collective good? That is the mission of this programme – to tighten our collaboration so Africa is prepared for any health emergency,” he said.
Okullo concluded with a broader vision for the continent’s future: “We look forward to an Africa that acts as one cohesive force – politically, economically and in health. What AMCOA has done is focus on health integration, bringing countries together to learn from each other and leverage our shared advantages. Meetings like this remind us that we are always stronger together.”
Science Nigeria reports that AMCOA, as the coordinating body for medical regulatory authorities in Africa, primarily aims to protect public interest by promoting high standards of medical education, regulation, and information exchange across the continent.
The workshop has convened health regulators, policymakers, and international partners from across Africa to chart a unified path toward integrated health governance and stronger healthcare systems.
The conference, which began on April 7, is scheduled to run until April 11, 2025.
