Japa: Over 16,000 Nigerian Doctors Travel Overseas To Seek Greener Pasture – Pate Confirms

The coordinating minister for health and social welfare, Ali Pate, has asserted that more than 16,000 Nigerian doctors have emigrated over the past five to seven years in pursuit of better opportunities overseas.

The Minister made these remarks in Abuja on Tuesday during the seventh annual capacity-building workshop organized by the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCA).

Naija News understands that the workshop focused on the theme “Integrated healthcare regulation and leadership in building resilient health systems.”

Pate highlighted that this mass departure of doctors has led to a doctor-to-population ratio of 3.9 per 10,000, which is considerably lower than the global standard.

He also mentioned that the estimated cost of training a single doctor exceeds $21,000, indicating a significant financial loss for the nation.

The minister attributed the migration of doctors to factors such as better economic prospects, improved working conditions, and enhanced research opportunities available abroad.

“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. Nurses and midwives have also thinned in numbers,” Pate said.

The minister highlighted that this trend impacts not only the healthcare system but also results in numerous rural communities being significantly underserved.

Pate expressed his belief that there is a chance, under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, to reevaluate and reform policies aimed at managing the health workforce in a manner that is advantageous for Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, guided by the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom African heads of state appointed as the AU’s Continental Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery, we are pursuing a new direction,” he said.

“His vision is for Nigeria to become a prosperous, people-oriented country that contributes to a peaceful and thriving continent. Not a standalone Nigeria, but a Nigeria that is interlinked with all our neighbours and sister countries.

“Under the renewed hope agenda, and within the framework of the Nigeria health sector renewal investment initiative, we have embraced a new path—combining strategic realism with visionary ambition.

“The national policy on health workforce migration is a cornerstone of this path. It is designed to address health workforce migration with dignity—dignity for health workers, for the country, and for the profession. It is data-driven, evidence-guided, and signals a clear direction.

“This is not a restrictive policy, nor is it one born out of resignation. We understand that the global health workforce shortage is at 18 million, and countries in the global north face human resource crises due to demographics and other factors.

“But our response is based on stewardship—balancing the rights of health professionals to seek opportunities abroad with our duty to protect the integrity and viability of our national health system.”