Over 7,256 Nigerian Nurses Lost To UK In 1 Year

Between March 2021 and March 2022, at least 7,256 Nigerian nurses have left for the United Kingdom. The data was released on Thursday by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of the United Kingdom.

The Nigerian health sector has been experiencing an unprecedented brain drain, especially as health workers migrate abroad for better opportunities.

Between March 2017 and March 2018, there was a migration of 2,796 Nigerian nurses to the UK. In addition, there was an influx of 3,021 Nigerian nurses between March 2018 and March 2019. A total of 3,684 had migrated to the UK between March 2019 and March 2020, according to the council.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 4,310 of them had registered with the council between March 2020 and March 2021. On the other hand, the council experienced its highest rate of registration in the past five years when a total of 7,256 Nigerian trained nurses registered between March 2021 and March 2022.

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The council stated, “People who trained in the Philippines and India continue to represent a significant proportion of our permanent register and contribute strongly to our annual growth. Between 2021 and 2022, there was a significant increase in the number of people who trained in India, the Philippines and Nigeria joining the permanent register for the first time.”

As of now, the data gathered has revealed that Nigeria has the 3rd highest number of foreign trained nurses in the UK, right after the Philippines and India.

On the other hand, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives called on the Federal Government to regulate the migration of nurses and midwives in the country, noting that it was negatively impacting the Nigeria’s health sector.

Many experts in the health sector have continued to advocate for better working conditions for doctors, nursing professionals and other health workers in a bid to regulate the export of human capital.