The Nigerian healthcare system is under severe pressure as the mass migration of medical professionals continues to shrink the workforce, leaving the few remaining doctors overwhelmed and overburdened, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has warned.
Rising from its 2025 Annual Delegates Conference in Katsina State, the NMA sounded the alarm over what it described as an unsustainable situation. The association’s President, Professor Bala Muhammad-Audu, noted that the demand for medical services is sharply increasing due to population growth, while the supply of doctors continues to dwindle.
“Over 15,000 Nigerian doctors have relocated abroad within the last five years,” Muhammad-Audu revealed during the conference themed: ‘The Universal Applicability of Care Standards for Patients and the Well-being of Health Care Providers’. With an estimated population of 240 million and only about 30,000 practicing doctors, Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio now stands at a staggering 1:8,000.
He stressed that poor working conditions and inadequate remuneration remain key drivers behind the wave of emigration. “We’re still battling issues like unpaid salaries, with doctors in federal tertiary institutions owed seven months in arrears,” he added.
Muhammad-Audu called for the consistent implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) across all sectors as part of the efforts to retain medical professionals and halt the worsening brain drain.
Highlighting Nigeria’s global reputation for producing highly skilled doctors, sought after by nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, the NMA leader emphasized the need for urgent reforms to keep these professionals at home.
He also condemned the proposed National Prescription Policy, asserting that prescription rights must remain solely with trained medical doctors.
On a more positive note, the NMA carried out a medical outreach in Katsina during the conference, providing treatment to 500 patients, conducting 100 eye surgeries, and distributing nutritional support to local orphanages.