Health experts call for deeper investment to address Nigeria’s workforce shortages

Health experts have called for increased investment and broader reforms to address shortages, uneven distribution and migration among Nigeria’s healthcare workers. They made the call on Thursday during a webinar organised by the Doctors Medical Aid Foundation on the future of Nigeria’s health workforce. Policymakers, healthcare professionals, development partners and other stakeholders discussed workforce shortages, retention, migration and task-shifting policies.

A poll conducted during the event identified poor remuneration as the leading challenge, cited by 46 per cent of respondents. Poor working conditions and inadequate numbers of healthcare workers were also identified as major concerns. Dare Bodunrin, a former senior programme officer at the Gates Foundation, warned that task-shifting and other efficiency measures could not resolve the crisis without stronger health-system infrastructure.

He said approaches that worked elsewhere might not succeed in Nigeria because of differences in system capacity. Bodunrin said shortages of commodities and equipment were among the constraints affecting healthcare delivery. He urged stakeholders to examine the entire workforce chain, including training, deployment, welfare and retention, rather than focusing only on the number of workers available.

He linked the migration of Nigerian health professionals to poor pay and unfavourable working conditions. While saying efficiency remained important, he argued that it could not replace adequate funding and called for greater investment in the system. Bodunrin also urged the government to create frameworks allowing greater private-sector participation in healthcare delivery, including primary care, while maintaining regulatory oversight.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said in 2025 that about 75 per cent of health workers were concentrated in urban areas, where 45 per cent of the population lives. It put Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio at one doctor to 5,000 people and the nurse-to-population ratio at one to 2,000. Government measures include a national health workforce registry and migration policies.

The government said more than 37,000 health workers had been employed since 2023, while acknowledging that migration continued to affect retention. NPHCDA official Gilbert Uwadia said functional primary healthcare facilities needed appropriate staff, infrastructure, equipment and essential commodities.