Japa Syndrome: FG Says 16,000 Medical Doctors Gone

By Ayodele Oni

The exodus of professionals abroad to seek greener pastures has taken toll on the Medical profession. The Federal Government has disclosed that over 16,000 Nigerian doctors left the country in the last five to seven years to other countries.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, disclosed this while speaking at the seventh annual capacity building workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa in Abuja.

Pate added that the doctor-to-population ratio is now 3.9 per 10,000 in Nigeria, while the estimated cost of training one doctor exceeds $21,000.

The minister pointed out that nurses and midwives that left Nigeria have also thinned the numbers of healthcare workers in the country.

“In Nigeria alone, over 16,000 doctors are estimated to have left the country in the last five to seven years, with thousands more leaving in just the past few years.

“Nurses and midwives have also thinned in numbers. The doctor-to-population ratio now stands at around 3.9 per 10,000 – well below the suggested global minimum.

“But this trend is not just about people leaving. It represents a fiscal loss.

“The estimated cost of training one doctor exceeds $21,000 – a figure that reflects the magnitude of public financing walking out of our countries.

“It deeply affects our health systems – leaving many of our rural communities critically underserved.”

The minister, however, urged African leaders to lead in forging a new global compact on health workforce mobility – anchored in pan-African training and accreditation standards; shared planning tools, evidence, and data; continental negotiating platforms with destination countries; and sustained investments in the people who care for the masses.