Nigeria’s fragile healthcare system is facing a worsening manpower crisis as the number of practising doctors in the country has dropped sharply to about 40,000, far below the estimated 300,000 required to adequately serve a population of over 220 million.
The alarming figure marks a steep decline from the 55,000 licensed doctors recorded in 2024, according to data earlier disclosed by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate. The latest revelation, however, was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, who warned that Nigeria lost about 15,000 doctors within just one year.
Speaking during a leadership dialogue in Lagos themed “Strengthening PHC Systems: A Joint Leadership Dialogue,” Abayomi described manpower shortage as one of the most critical challenges confronting the nation’s health sector.
According to him, Lagos State alone, with an estimated population of nearly 30 million people, currently has only about 7,000 doctors and requires at least 33,000 more to meet basic healthcare needs.
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“Nigeria currently has about 40,000 doctors against an estimated requirement of 300,000. Lagos alone needs about 33,000 doctors but has only around 7,000,” Abayomi said.
He noted that the doctor-to-population ratio remains dangerously low, with doctors overstretched and health facilities struggling to deliver quality care. To address the gap, Abayomi said the Lagos State Government is investing in its newly established University of Medicine and Health, which is expected to produce about 2,500 healthcare workers annually within five years.
The crisis is largely driven by the mass migration of healthcare professionals, widely referred to as the “japa syndrome.” Doctors, nurses and pharmacists continue to leave Nigeria in large numbers in search of better working conditions, pay and security abroad.
Earlier, Professor Pate disclosed during a television interview that at least 16,000 Nigerian doctors left the country in the past five years, while about 17,000 others were transferred out of active service.
The scale of the exodus is reflected in figures from the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council, which show that 11,001 Nigerian-trained doctors are currently practising in the UK alone.
President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Bala Audu, recently warned that Nigeria has moved beyond passive brain drain and has become a direct recruitment ground for foreign governments.
According to Audu, international recruiters now come into Nigeria to directly hire doctors, especially specialists such as obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians, offering superior welfare packages, infrastructure and working environments.
“Many of our doctors are no longer going abroad to search for jobs. Foreign governments now come into Nigeria to recruit them,” Audu said, lamenting that maternal and child mortality rates remain high as skilled professionals continue to leave.
Former NMA President, Professor Mike Ogirima, described Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio as “horrible,” noting that the country currently has one doctor to about 8,000 patients, compared to the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of one doctor to 600 patients.
Ogirima said Nigeria produces an average of just 3,000 doctors annually, making it impossible to close the widening gap anytime soon, especially with the current rate of emigration.
Healthcare experts warn that at the present pace, it could take more than 20 years to train enough health workers to meet Nigeria’s needs. They have urged federal and state governments to urgently improve funding, security, infrastructure and welfare packages to retain medical professionals and prevent a total collapse of the health system.
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