Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has emphasized the need for mutual benefits in health partnerships between Nigeria and the UK.
Dr. Salako made this disclosure on Thursday during the UK-Africa Health Summit in London, with the theme of this summit “Shared Solutions for Health for All.”
He said the health workforce migration from many parts of Africa which has increased in the last few years is a critical concern worsening the fundamental problems of shortage of skilled healthcare professionals with adverse impacts on our national health systems.
“This challenge is particularly intense in my country being the highest healthcare workforce exporting country in Africa with UK the key destination. Between 2020 and 2022, there has been a 145%, 70% and 900% increase in the number of doctors, nurses and midwives and laboratory scientists respectively that requested for letters of good standing from their regulatory bodies in order to migrate out of Nigeria,” he explained.
“68% of the doctors and 52% of the nurses and midwives migrated to the UK with the USA and Canada being other major destination countries,” he added.
The Minister highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts to achieve universal health coverage.
He noted that Nigeria has been actively engaged with the UK in various areas, including health, education, and trade.
Dr. Salako however, emphasized the need for a more structured and ethical approach to health workforce migration, which has resulted in a significant brain drain in Nigeria’s health sector.
He called for more robust bilateral agreements and investment in training programs by destination countries like the UK.
He also advocated for increased collaboration and investment in capacity building, healthcare infrastructure development, and research.
The minister acknowledged the contributions of the Global Health Partnership and the Global Health Workforce Programme, funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, in strengthening Nigeria’s health system.
He expressed Nigeria’s commitment to mobilizing domestic resources for the sustainability of these programs.
He emphasized on the need for global cooperation in addressing health challenges, including future pandemics, and building a resilient global health system.