In June and July 2022, the General Medical Council, which licences and maintains the official register of medical practitioners in the United Kingdom, licenced at least 266 Nigerian doctors.
The implication is that at least three Nigerian doctors were licenced per day in June and July 2022, despite the Federal Government’s efforts to halt the exodus of doctors and health workers in the country amid worsening brain drain.
There are currently 9,976 Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK.
Other doctors of Nigerian origin who did not receive medical training in Nigeria are not included in this figure.
Nigeria currently has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK, trailing only India and Pakistan.
However, doctors are in short supply in the country.
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria reported that over 100,000 doctors have registered with the council.
Worryingly, Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, has a doctor-to-patient ratio that is still lower than the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 1:600.
According to a NOI poll conducted in 2018, 88 percent of Nigerian doctors are interested in working abroad, but experts believe the figure may be higher due to rising insecurity and economic hardship.
The United States, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Australia are also popular destinations for Nigerian-trained doctors.
According to reports, the Nigerian Medical Association has continued to urge the Federal Government to create a thriving environment for doctors and health workers in order to reduce the massive brain drain.
Under the auspices of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, doctors in Nigeria have issued a two-week ultimatum to the government over poor welfare and the failure to implement the new hazard allowance rate that was signed in December 2021.
The doctors had gone on strike for close to 60 days in 2021.
In an interview , the Publicity Secretary of NARD, Dr Alfa Yusuf, said, “Government should declare a state of emergency on the health care sector, address the challenges, improve remuneration and good working conditions and address security issues.”
When asked about the causes of brain drain, Yusuf said, “Poor remuneration, poor working facilities, insecurities including assault on doctors and burn out from over work, among others.”
Also, the immediate past President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, Prof. Ken Ozoilo, said, “It is unfortunate that the government has once again failed to live up to expectations, but this is typical.
“This kind of attitude on the part of government and its agents feeds the notion that the government does not listen to workers unless they are on strike.
“Predictably, we are going into another round of NARD strike at a most difficult time and the government is squarely to blame.
“Brain drain will sadly continue and will get worse. There is no measure put in place by the country yet that is capable of stemming the tide. Even the new hazard allowance fails miserably in this wise as it is a far cry from the demand of health workers.
“The NARD strike is not inevitable, but it is unlikely that agents of government responsible will act on time to avert it.”
