Nigeria has lost a total of 14,815 nurses and midwives to the United Kingdom over a seven-year period, from 2017 to March 2024. This figure reflects the growing trend of healthcare professionals leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad, particularly in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) of the United Kingdom disclosed these statistics as part of its registration data. According to the council, the majority of Nigerian nurses and midwives were granted licenses to practice in the UK due to increasing demand for healthcare workers and favourable migration pathways for professionals from Commonwealth countries.
In 2023 alone, over 3,383 Nigerian nurses and midwives were licensed by the NMC to work in the UK, making Nigeria one of the top non-EU countries contributing to the UK’s healthcare workforce. The trend has continued into the first quarter of 2024, with hundreds more healthcare workers from Nigeria obtaining UK practice licenses.
Health sector analysts and medical professionals in Nigeria have expressed concern over this mass migration. They warn that the continuous exodus of trained personnel is putting additional strain on Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system. The country, with a population of over 200 million, faces severe shortages in trained health workers, particularly in rural and underserved regions.
According to Nigeria’s Nursing and Midwifery Council, the country currently has about 250,000 registered nurses and midwives. However, the World Health Organization recommends a nurse-to-patient ratio of one nurse per 300 people, a standard that Nigeria falls short of, especially in the northern and remote parts of the country. The loss of nearly 15,000 professionals to the UK over seven years has further widened this gap.
Several factors are driving the migration of Nigerian healthcare workers. Chief among them are poor working conditions, low remuneration, lack of essential medical supplies, insecurity, and limited career advancement opportunities. In contrast, the UK offers more stable employment, better wages, structured work environments, and clearer career progression.
Despite efforts by the Nigerian government to stem the tide of brain drain, such as policies aimed at improving salaries and offering training incentives, experts say these measures have not been sufficient. Many young professionals, particularly recent graduates, are actively preparing to leave the country soon after obtaining their licenses.
The situation has sparked debates on whether Nigeria should implement mandatory service years for nurses and midwives before allowing them to emigrate. While some policy makers have proposed a bond system, in which nurses must serve locally for a fixed period before being eligible for international practice, such measures have faced criticism from unions and civil society groups. Critics argue that restricting migration infringes on the personal freedom of professionals and fails to address the underlying systemic issues in the health sector.
The United Kingdom, on the other hand, continues to benefit from Nigeria’s healthcare workforce due to its own shortages. The NHS has been increasingly dependent on foreign-trained staff to fill vacancies, with Nigeria ranking among the top five countries supplying nurses and midwives to the UK system.
The UK’s ethical recruitment guidelines discourage aggressive poaching from countries with critical health workforce shortages. However, recruitment from Nigeria continues under bilateral agreements and individual applications, as many Nigerian professionals qualify through independent channels.
While this migration trend benefits the UK’s healthcare infrastructure, the long-term impact on Nigeria’s public health remains a pressing concern. Unless structural reforms are made to improve local working conditions and provide incentives for healthcare professionals to remain in the country, experts predict that the outflow of nurses and midwives may accelerate in the coming years.
