By Ekene Nwankwo
Nigeria’s growing health worker shortage is being brought
into sharper focus by new figures showing that 10,494 Nigerians are working in
Britain’s National Health Service, making them the largest African group in the
breakdown.
The figures, released by NHS Million, a UK campaign
organisation focused on NHS staff, place Nigeria sixth among nationalities
represented across the health service.
Only the UK or British nationality, India, the Philippines,
Ireland and Poland recorded higher numbers in the breakdown, highlighting the
scale of Nigeria’s contribution to Britain’s health system.
More than 1.1 million NHS workers identified as British or
UK nationals, while India accounted for 32,117 staff and the Philippines for
another 25,423 workers.
Among African countries, Zimbabwe ranked behind Nigeria with
4,780 nationals working in the NHS. Ghana followed with 3,395, while Egypt
recorded 2,895 and South Africa 1,829.
The figures come against a difficult backdrop for Nigeria,
where thousands of trained health professionals have left the country amid
concerns over staffing levels and the ability of the health system to retain
skilled workers.
Nigeria’s 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report said more
than 20,000 health workers relocated abroad within one year, adding pressure to
an already stretched workforce.
Those who left included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and
midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658
physiotherapists and 274 dentists, alongside other health workers.
The report also showed that Nigeria had 95,456 registered
doctors, but only 60,551 held active practising licences, underscoring the gap
between the number trained and those available to provide medical services.
The shortage is further complicated by the uneven
distribution of professionals across Nigeria, with several northern states
recording particularly low doctor densities and relying heavily on other
categories of health workers.
Britain remains one of the main destinations for Nigerian
medical professionals, with the country’s health system continuing to attract
doctors and other skilled workers trained in Nigeria.
Figures from the UK General Medical Council showed that
4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the British medical register between May
2023 and April 2026, according to reports.
The same data showed that 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors
were licensed to practise in the UK, illustrating the deep professional links
between Nigeria’s medical workforce and Britain’s health system.
Nigeria’s health ministry has acknowledged external
migration as one factor affecting the availability of skilled professionals,
while the government has introduced measures intended to improve recruitment,
retention and workforce planning.
In August 2024, Nigeria approved a National Policy on Health
Workforce Migration, designed to manage migration, improve retention,
strengthen workforce planning and address conditions influencing health
workers’ decisions to leave.
But the 2025 health report said the policy’s implementation
plan had been completed, while full implementation had yet to begin.
The government has also increased training, with 23,000
frontline health workers trained in 2025, bringing the total trained across
2024 and 2025 to 78,146.
That figure represents about 65 per cent of the national
target of 120,000 frontline workers, as authorities seek to strengthen staffing
and reduce pressure on the country’s health system.
The migration policy is intended to improve working
conditions, support career progression and create a more coordinated approach
to retaining health professionals while managing those who choose to work
abroad.
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