FG unveils plans to bring back 12,400 Nigerian-trained doctors practising abroad
Story by Jane AISO
The coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, has announced that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has approved the national policy on health workforce migration to address the continued exodus of Nigerian doctors abroad.
Stating this on his X handle on Tuesday, the minister said the policy aims to woo an estimated 12,400 Nigerian-trained doctors practising abroad.
According to Pate during a programme on Channels TV on Tuesday evening, 67 per cent of Nigerian-trained doctors are practising in the United Kingdom alone.
“The recruitment countries, that recruit our professionals, should they not have some responsibilities to help us expand the training? Because the strain of health workers’ migration is continuous; it’s not going to stop tomorrow.
the UK will need Nigerian doctors; 67 per cent of our doctors go to the United Kingdom and 25 per cent of the NHIS workforce is Nigerian.
“Nigerians are very vibrant, very entrepreneurial, and very capable wherever they are.
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If Nigerians hold back from the UK, for instance, the NHS will struggle to provide the services that many Nigerians are going there to get,” the minister said.
Pate said the policy signed by the President was more than just a response to the ongoing exodus of healthcare professionals but a comprehensive strategy to manage, harness, and reverse health workers’ migration.
While health workers believed the policy might be positive, they demanded the details and implementation plan.
Proofreading by Gift Luckson, Editor at Neptune Prime.
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