* Amid dearth of healthcare workers
Nigeria ranks 7th among 57 nations suffering severe shortage of healthcare professionals, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, and efforts are being made to stop nurses from unchecked emigration abroad.
The council’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Faruk Abubakar, made this announcement on Thursday in Abuja during the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives’ Federal Capital Territory chapter’s 2023 Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference.
The conference held under the theme, ‘Our Nurses, Our Future”.
Abubakar, who was the guest of honour at the event, submitted that: “To curtail the situation (nurses emigration), recruitment of more nurses is needed. If the government can provide the necessary facilities, welfare, adequate insurance for the nurses, better working environment, brain drain will be a thing of the past.
“Government should invest more in the training of nurses; the government should take appropriate measures in tackling all the challenges.”
The recent statistics on the emigration of healthcare professionals from Nigeria to developed countries are worrisome.
For instance, the UK immigration report in 2022 put the number of Nigerian healthcare professionals granted working visas in the UK in 2021 at 13,609.
Also, between December 2021 and May 2022, a total of 727 Nigerian-trained medical doctors relocated to the UK.
While the UK is one of the top destinations, Nigerian-trained healthcare professionals emigrate to Canada, the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and other developed countries.