The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has expressed grave concern over the rising exodus of healthcare professionals from Africa, describing it as a serious threat to the continent’s health systems.
Speaking on Monday at the 7th Annual Capacity Building Workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Abuja, Pate said the current scale of brain drain was unprecedented.
“More than 16,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in the last five to seven years, with a similarly significant number of nurses and midwives emigrating,” he said.
This, he noted, has led to an alarmingly low doctor-to-population ratio of 3.9 per 10,000 – far below the global average. The training cost for a single doctor exceeds $21,000, he added, emphasising the scale of investment loss.
In response, the minister unveiled a new National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, part of the Renewed Hope Agenda under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
He explained that the policy seeks not to restrict migration but to promote dignity, retain talent, and ensure ethical recruitment through bilateral agreements. It also aims to build reintegration pathways for returnees and boost training capacity.
Pate disclosed that over 60,000 frontline health workers had been retrained in the past year, with plans to reach 120,000. He also highlighted disparities in workforce distribution, with more than 40 per cent of doctors based in Lagos and Abuja.
“We can’t force relocation, but we can provide incentives – housing, digital access, and improved working conditions,” he said.
Professor Joel Okullo, AMCOA President, echoed the need to retain Africa’s medical professionals and called for tighter regulation and strategic collaboration across countries.
The workshop, which runs from 7 to 11 April, brings together medical regulators and international partners to strengthen Africa’s health systems.
