The Nigerian government has stressed the importance of ethical and balanced health workforce migration, calling for a stronger partnership with the United Kingdom to enhance Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and improve the country’s healthcare system.
At the UK-Africa Health Summit in London, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Adekunle Salako, emphasized the need for a structured migration process. While the movement of healthcare professionals supports knowledge exchange and addresses workforce shortages, unregulated migration negatively impacts Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
Between 2020 and 2022, there was a sharp rise in Nigerian doctors, nurses, midwives, and laboratory scientists seeking migration documents. The UK emerged as the top destination, receiving 68% of doctors and 52% of nurses and midwives. To address this, Salako proposed legally binding agreements, investment in training, and capacity-building initiatives to ensure mutual benefits for both Nigeria and recipient countries.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to healthcare reforms, he highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the implementation of the National Health Act of 2014, which allocates funding to strengthen primary healthcare, expand social health insurance, and enhance emergency medical services.
Salako also acknowledged Nigeria’s longstanding collaboration with the UK in health, education, and business and urged greater cooperation in healthcare financing and workforce retention. He expressed concerns over declining international health aid, stressing the importance of domestic resource mobilization for sustainable healthcare funding.
Recognizing the contributions of Nigerian healthcare professionals in the UK, Salako praised initiatives such as the SCALE program (Strengthening Collaboration and Advancing Clinical Excellence) for promoting skills transfer, resource mobilization, and medical partnerships between both nations.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to global health cooperation, emphasizing that international collaboration is essential to tackling public health challenges, future pandemics, and economic stability.
