A total of 3,173 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom within one year. This data is based on the latest report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on the number of nursing and midwifery professionals on their register from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, obtained exclusively from the council.
The report also indicated that 13,656 nurses and midwives educated in Nigeria were practising in the UK as of March 31, 2024. The NMC data revealed that on that date, there were a total of 826,418 nursing and midwifery professionals on their register.
Of this number, 13,656 were educated in Nigeria, and in the 12 months leading to March 31, 2024, 3,173 people educated in Nigeria joined the register for the first time.
The NMC is the regulator for nursing and midwifery in the UK, maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives, specialist community public health nurses, and nursing associates eligible to practise in the UK.
According to the report, Nigeria is one of the top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024. The number of Nigerian nurses and midwives practising in the UK increased by 28.3 per cent in one year.
Other top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024 include India (62,413), the Philippines (49,092), Romania (7,378), and Ghana (5,536).
In 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that Nigeria and 54 other countries faced the most pressing health workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.
The WHO mentioned that the impact of COVID-19 and widespread disruptions to health services led health workers in these countries to seek better-paid opportunities in wealthier nations.
Of the 55 countries identified by WHO, 37 are in Africa, eight in the Western Pacific region, six in the Eastern Mediterranean region, three in Southeast Asia, and one in the Americas.
Consequently, on March 23, 2023, the UK government placed Nigeria and 53 other countries on the red list of countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.
Despite this, the NMC report noted that the number of first-time joiners across the UK continued to rise, with nearly 60,000 new nursing and midwifery professionals registering this year. The figures were split almost equally between UK-educated joiners (30,363) and those educated internationally (29,628).
The year-on-year growth was even higher among international joiners, showing an increase of more than 18 per cent compared to the previous year. Almost half (14,615) of this year’s new joiners were educated in India.
In 2023, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives reported that over 75,000 nurses and midwives left Nigeria in five years to seek greener pastures.
This mass exodus has worsened the ongoing shortage of health workers and poses significant threats to the healthcare delivery system, leading to limited access to care for many people.
