The General Medical Council responsible for issuing certificates and maintaining the official register of medical practitioners in the United Kingdom licensed at least 266 Nigerian doctors in June and July, 2022.
Other doctors of Nigerian origin who did not have their medical education in Nigeria are not included in the statistic.
Following India and Pakistan, Nigeria currently has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.
However, there is a shortage doctors in the country. Over 100,000 doctors have now enrolled with the Medical and Dental Body of Nigeria, according to the council.
Concerningly, Nigeria, which has a population of over 200 million people, shows that the country’s doctor-to-patient ratio is still below the recommended level of 1:600.
A poll by NOI in 2018 also showed that 88% of Nigerian doctors are considering work opportunities abroad, but experts say the figure may be higher due to the rising insecurity and economic crunch.
Other popular destinations for Nigeria-trained doctors include United States, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
The Nigerian Medical Association has continued to call on the Federal Government to provide a thriving environment for doctors and health workers to curb the massive brain drain.
Under the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, doctors in Nigeria have given the government a two-week deadline to improve welfare and implement the new hazard allowance rate that was agreed upon in December 2021.
In 2021, the doctors went on strike for about 60 days.
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