Nigeria’s healthcare unions have warned that worsening brain drain is crippling the health sector and urged the government to adopt urgent reforms on pay, welfare, infrastructure, and security to stem the exodus.
LAGOS — Nigeria’s health sector faces a looming collapse as professional associations warn of worsening brain drain caused by the mass migration of doctors, nurses, and other health workers abroad.
At the opening of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors’ (NARD) 45th Annual General Meeting in Katsina, President Dr. Tope Osundara disclosed that the number of resident doctors had dropped from about 15,000 in 2014 to 8,000 in 2025.
He said: “Migration in Nigeria is fuelled by poor remuneration, exhaustive working conditions, and a shortage of manpower, which we have witnessed in an unprecedented way.”
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) recommended urgent salary reviews, welfare packages such as housing and car loans, improved infrastructure, and investment in training to retain doctors. Similarly, the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) described the exodus as a “national emergency,” warning that hospitals are overstretched and patient deaths are rising.
Other groups, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association, urged government to prioritise pay, security, career growth, and modern facilities while rejecting punitive bonding measures.
Health workers cautioned that without decisive reforms, Nigeria risks hollowing out its healthcare workforce beyond repair.