Nigerian clinicians are leaving the country at an unprecedented pace. According to the Nigerian Medical Association, Nigeria has lost over 9,000 doctors in the past 2 years to places like the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, among others. For some context, this is about 10% of the doctors Nigeria has ever produced since its independence in 1960. In an already-stretched health system, this flight of clinicians is putting additional stress on those who remain, and there is a real risk that some of the progress in healthcare outcomes over the past couple of decades could be reversed if this trend continues unabated.

And it isn't just the doctors who are emigrating to greener pastures anymore. Today, many allied health workers (including nurses, radiographers, and pharmacists) are also leaving Nigeria for work opportunities abroad. According to this 2019 NOI Polls poll, here are the top 4 reasons doctors give for emigrating:

• higher remuneration

• better quality of life

• better facilities and work environments

• career progression & professional advancement

Unfortunately, given our current economic situation as a country, it would be really difficult for any Nigerian government to provide all of these. There is also a global health worker shortage at the moment, and as a result, immigration pathways for experienced clinical professionals are now quite easy and straightforward. This means that in the short term these trends will likely continue.

Is there anything Nigerian health systems (both at the federal and state levels) can do about the brain drain? Tomorrow we will explore some ideas that can help to lessen the impact of the brain drain on our health systems.