By Oluwafunke Ishola, News Agency of Nigeria

Nigeria, like many other African countries, is suffering a flight of talent from its fragile healthcare sector as richer countries woo underpaid but skilled professionals.

The nation’s nursing workforce is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, one that has profound implications for public health systems, economies, and the future of healthcare.

Nurses, essential to health care delivery, are increasingly facing insurmountable challenges that undermine their well-being and threaten their ability to provide high-quality care.

Hospitals are short-staffed, yet recruitment is slow or nonexistent.

Low wages, harsh working conditions and widespread burnout make nursing less attractive in Nigeria, leading to the migration of scarce skilled professionals to countries with better working environments.

According to the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), 15,495 nurses have left Nigeria for foreign practice as of February 2025.

Implications

Its President, Haruna Mamman, warned that the trend was alarming, emphasising its threat to timely and quality healthcare delivery in the country.

Mamman blamed the situation on the government’s slow action on nurses’ welfare, pointing to the Scheme of Service, approved in 2016 but still not gazetted nine years later.

He argued that producing more nurses won’t stop the migration trend but could create official quacks, urging the government to address the factors driving nurses to leave, such as poor remuneration, welfare and working conditions.

The Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said 42 per cent of nurses in Africa have an intention to emigrate.

“This is an alarming trend that risks draining critical talent and undermining our most fragile systems.

“Nurses account for 66 per cent of the region’s projected shortfall of 6.1 million health workers by 2030,” Ihekweazu said.

He noted that this shortage limits access to essential services, from maternal and child health to chronic disease care and slows progress towards universal health coverage.

In spite of the growing crisis, many countries are still relying on short-term, reactive strategies to address the nursing workforce challenges, a report by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) said.

“These workforce plans tend to focus predominantly on increasing the supply of new nurses, often through reliance on immigration.

“While this may provide temporary relief, it does little to address the underlying issues, such as workforce retention, career progression, and empowering nurses to work to their full scope of practice.

“As a result, these efforts fail to build a sustainable nursing workforce capable of meeting future health care demands,” ICN said.

ICN and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the ‘State of the World’s Nursing 2025 Report’, highlighted that inequities in the global nursing workforce leave many of the world’s population without access to essential health services, which could threaten progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), global health security and the health-related development goals.

Experts submit that addressing the nursing crisis requires long-term, sustainable strategies that invest in nurses well-being, recognising its direct impact on improving quality health care delivery, increased workforce retention, and economic productivity. (NANFeatures)

***If used, please credit the writer and the News Agency of Nigeria.