Nigeria Unveils Policy to Lure Back Migrant Doctors and Nurses
In a bid to reverse the trend of the medical brain drain that the country is currently witnessing, where medical practitioners migrate abroad, notably for better pay and working conditions, the Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a comprehensive policy aimed at enticing migrant healthcare professionals to return home.
The National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, released by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on August 13, outlines strategies to attract back the thousands of Nigerian doctors and nurses who have left the country in search of greener pastures.
“Nigeria suffers from severe shortages of health workers, stemming from long-lasting issues in the production of skilled professionals and the difficulty in deploying existing professionals to rural and underserved areas. In this context, the migration of healthcare workers has made these problems more salient,” the document reads in part.
The shortage of health workers has remained a major issue, exacerbated by the increasing relocation of Nigerian-trained doctors and other health practitioners.
According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria is among 37 countries with critical health workforce shortages, having 0.363 medical doctors per 1,000 people, as against the WHO’s threshold of 4.45 healthcare workers per 1,000 people.
Although Nigeria’s health sector is short of professionals, the country is a major contributor of health workforce talent to many other nations.
The policy proposal noted that while Nigeria is the highest workforce-exporting country in Africa—with the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and Saudi Arabia as key destinations between 2021 and 2022, second only to India—the country, unlike India and the Philippines, does not have a managed migration system or a robust system to train healthcare workers for both domestic and global labor markets.
Hence, the Nigerian government has proposed strategies that will help Africa’s most populous country retain its talent while benefiting from its migrated health workers.
“The recruitment countries that hire our professionals—should they not have some responsibility to help us expand our training capacity? Because the strain of health workers’ migration is continuous; it’s not going to stop tomorrow,” Prof. Pate said when he appeared on Channels TV on Tuesday to discuss the policy.
Key Points from the New Proposal:
Aligns with UHC Objectives: Institutionalization of an effective, well-managed migration of health workers linked to the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) aspirations of the Government of Nigeria.
Makes the Best Use of HRH Who Remain in the Country: Providing meaningful incentives to HRH who are in the country, especially to those who choose to serve in rural and underserved parts of the country; those in training programs in the country; and providing the necessary equipment and commodities to deliver quality care.
As a Basis for Health Systems Strengthening: Recognition that managed migration can play a key role in building the capacity of health systems in Nigeria and facilitating skill and knowledge transfer from the diaspora.
Ex Ante Use of Agreements: Proposes the deployment and application of bilateral and multilateral agreements on the recruitment of health professionals, while respecting the freedom of health workers to migrate. Such agreements will provide a basis to favor in-country migration and facilitate circular or return migration for critical skills.
Policy Supported by Real-Time Data: Development and strengthening of a human resources for health registry to support the use of evidence-based policies and provide data for improvement in the availability and international comparability of migration statistics for health personnel in Nigeria.
Takes a Whole-of-Government Approach: Advances multi-sector and whole-of-government approaches to managed migration in Nigeria by ensuring that relevant institutions in ministries such as the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE) and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FMoLE), among others, are involved in ensuring the optimization of the present health workforce and the production of a future health workforce that is responsive to the needs of the country and the world.
Recognizes the Role of the Private Sector as a Source of Innovation and Health as a Service: The private sector is involved in the flow and production of skilled health workers and the use of “digital in health” as a way of delivering health services.
