IYAMIDR URGES PRESIDENT TINUBU TO DECLARE EMERGENCY ON HEALTH SECTOR AS MEDICAL BRAIN DRAIN WORSENS

…Says Nigeria Risks Total Healthcare Collapse Without Urgent Intervention

By Urbanscoopnews

The Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR Nigeria) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare a national emergency on Nigeria’s rapidly deteriorating healthcare sector, warning that the continued mass migration of medical professionals could trigger an unprecedented collapse of the country’s health system.

In a strongly worded open letter dated June 26, 2026, and signed by its Executive Director, Solomon Okoduwa, the Benin City-based non-governmental organisation appealed to the President to urgently implement comprehensive reforms aimed at retaining Nigeria’s shrinking healthcare workforce.

Copies of the letter were also addressed to Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).

According to IYAMIDR, Nigeria is experiencing an alarming exodus of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in search of improved remuneration, safer working conditions and better career prospects abroad.

The organisation described the situation as no longer a conventional “brain drain” but a “national haemorrhage” capable of undermining Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system and threatening national development.

Citing available statistics, IYAMIDR noted that more than 50,000 Nigerian-trained doctors are currently practising overseas, while over 43,000 healthcare professionals reportedly left the country between 2023 and 2024. It further stated that more than 23,000 nurses and midwives migrated abroad within the same period, leaving Nigeria with a doctor-to-population ratio far below the benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The organisation attributed the mass migration primarily to poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions, observing that Nigerian healthcare workers earn only a fraction of what their counterparts receive in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia.

It further lamented that many medical personnel continue to endure prolonged working hours, inadequate hospital equipment, poor welfare packages, insecurity, delayed allowances and insufficient insurance coverage, factors it said have continued to fuel the growing “Medical Japa” phenomenon.

IYAMIDR warned that unless decisive action is taken, Nigeria could face severe shortages of healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and public hospitals, leading to declining access to quality healthcare, rising medical tourism, increased pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves and reduced capacity to respond effectively to disease outbreaks and national emergencies.

The organisation also expressed concern over what it described as the continuous loss of billions of naira invested by Nigeria in training medical professionals who eventually relocate abroad to strengthen foreign healthcare systems.

As part of its recommendations, IYAMIDR urged the Federal Government to urgently review the CONMESS and CONHESS salary structures, improve hazard and rural allowances, modernise healthcare facilities, provide comprehensive health insurance and better security for medical personnel, and enforce humane duty schedules.

The group also advocated the review of regulatory policies perceived as restrictive to healthcare workers, the establishment of a Health Diaspora Bond to encourage skilled Nigerian professionals abroad to contribute through teaching, specialist services and telemedicine, as well as the adoption of improved welfare packages similar to those enjoyed by personnel under the military salary structure.

According to the organisation, investing meaningfully in the welfare and professional development of healthcare workers remains the most sustainable strategy for reversing the migration trend and rebuilding public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

IYAMIDR stressed that Nigeria cannot continue serving as a training ground for developed nations while its own citizens struggle to access quality healthcare at home.

The organisation therefore appealed to President Tinubu and all relevant government institutions to treat the matter as a national priority and implement far-reaching reforms within the next 90 days to safeguard the future of Nigeria’s health sector.

It maintained that preserving the country’s healthcare workforce is essential not only for public health but also for national security, economic development and the overall well-being of millions of Nigerians.