RismadarVoice Reporters
January 25, 2026
Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system is facing a deepening manpower crisis as the number of practicing doctors in the country has fallen to about 40,000, far below the estimated 300,000 required to adequately serve a population of over 220 million.
The latest figures mark a sharp decline from the 55,000 licensed doctors recorded in 2024, according to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, raising fresh concerns about the sustainability of healthcare delivery nationwide.
Speaking during an interview, Pate disclosed that no fewer than 16,000 doctors left Nigeria within the last five years, while about 17,000 others were transferred out of active service, largely due to migration, retirement, and administrative postings.
Worsening the situation, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, recently revealed that the number of practising doctors has further dropped to 40,000 within just one year, underscoring the scale and speed of the crisis.
Abayomi made the disclosure during a one-day leadership dialogue in Lagos themed “Strengthening PHC Systems: A Joint Leadership Dialogue,” organized by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board with support from development partners.
He identified manpower shortage as one of the most critical challenges confronting Nigeria’s health sector, noting that Lagos State alone has only 7,000 doctors serving an estimated population of nearly 30 million people.
According to him, the state requires an additional 33,000 doctors to meet minimum healthcare demands.
“Nigeria currently has about 40,000 doctors against an estimated need of 300,000, while Lagos alone requires about 33,000 doctors but has only about 7,000,” Abayomi said.
To address the shortfall, the commissioner said the Lagos State Government is investing heavily in its newly established University of Medicine and Health, which is expected to produce about 2,500 healthcare workers annually within five years, including laboratory scientists, other critical cadres.
The crisis has largely been driven by the mass migration of healthcare professionals popularly known as the “japa syndrome” with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
A 2017 survey conducted by a Nigerian polling organization in partnership with Nigeria Health Watch revealed that about 88 per cent of Nigerian doctors were already seeking job opportunities outside the country at the time.
Healthcare experts have blamed the worsening brain drain on poor funding, dilapidated infrastructure, harsh working conditions, insecurity, weak policy implementation.
Data from the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council shows that the number of Nigerian-trained doctors practising in the UK has risen to 11,001, further depleting the country’s already limited workforce.
President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Prof. Bala Audu, recently warned that Nigeria has moved beyond passive brain drain and has become a direct recruitment hub for foreign governments.
