No fewer than 162 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom in the last six weeks.
This is according to the register of the General Medical Council of the UK. The GMC is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the UK.
The number of Nigerian-trained doctors practising in the UK rose from 10,824 to 10,986 in the last 42 days according to the information on the GMC website.
This implies that at least three Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed per day from February 2 to March 15, 2023.
Nigeria has been faced with worrying brain drain in recent times, with many professionals, including doctors, leaving the country for greener pastures.
It was also observed that Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India (31,979) and Pakistan (18,490).
A 2023 health workforce support and safeguards list report by the WHO showed that Nigeria and 36 other African countries face the most pressing health workforce challenges related to UHC.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Emeka Orji, said, “There is a need for a review of the salary structure, and the government needs to work with the medical bodies to resolve their lingering concerns.”
Also reacting, the President of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, Dr Victor Makanjuola, said the country needed to produce about 12,000 doctors annually to meet the required number of physicians.
Makanjuola said the disturbing analysis shows that nine out of every 10 medical and dental consultants with less than five years of experience plan to leave the country for greener pastures.