Nigeria health sector on edge as over 16,000 doctors quit

Nigeria is facing a deepening health emergency as more than 16,000 doctors have left the country in the past five to seven years, Health Minister Muhammad Pate has said.

The exodus, described by health experts as a haemorrhage of critical talent, has left rural communities across Nigeria dangerously underserved.

This trend is not just about people leaving,” said Pate, at a medical workshop in Abuja on Tuesday. “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 implications are stark. According to Pate, who also oversees social welfare, Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio has plummeted to 3.9 per 10,000, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended threshold. The WHO recommends a doctor-to-patient ratio of one doctor for every 1,000 people.

And it’s not just doctors—nurses and midwives are also leaving in droves, further crippling the delivery of healthcare across the country.

Minister Pate pointed to a toxic mix of poor working conditions, inadequate compensation, limited access to advanced training, and under-resourced hospitals as driving forces behind the migration wave.

“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,” he said.

This worsening crisis coincides with a global shortage of health professionals, put at 18 million. Wealthier nations are scrambling to fill their own staffing gaps – often by pulling skilled workers from countries like Nigeria, the minister said.

While acknowledging that the lure of better opportunities abroad is strong, Pate emphasized the need for a coherent national response. He highlighted the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, designed to retain and motivate health workers at home while managing migration through ethical, evidence-based strategies.

“This policy is designed to address health workforce migration with dignity—dignity for health workers, for the country, and for the profession,” he said. “It is not a restrictive policy, nor is it one born out of resignation. It is evidence-based and data-driven.”