6,068 Nigerian Doctors Have Moved To UK Since 2015 – Report

6,068 Nigerian Doctors Have Moved To UK Since 2015 - Report
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No fewer than 6,068 Nigerian medical doctors have moved to the United Kingdom since 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari, ‘s administration came into being according to a report. 

According to data obtained by Africa Daily News, New York from the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom on Wednesday, the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors who moved over to the UK as of August 30, 2022 stood at 10,096.

This number was arrived at without the inclusion of Nigerian doctors who got medical qualifications in schools outside the country.

The data revealed that 233 Nigerian doctors passed the examination to practice in the UK in 2015.

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The number increased to 279 in 2016, while the figure was 475 in 2017.

In 2018, the figure rose to 852 while it further increased to 1,347 in 2019.

In 2020, the figure was 833 despite the fact that the GMC closed operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figure for 2021 was put at 932.

So far in 2022, the data revealed that 1,107 Nigerian-trained doctors have been licensed to practise.

Africa Daily News, New York reports that at the moment, Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India and Pakistan.

The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors has said six out of 10 doctors in the country plan to leave the country for greener pastures.

This is just as it disclosed that there are only 12,297 resident doctors in both the Federal and state tertiary health institutions in the country.

The NARD President, Dr Dare Ishaya, disclosed these in an interview reporters yesterday.

Ishaya said, “As of the last time we issued the questionnaire, we found that out of 10 resident doctors, six of them are planning to leave or have the intention to leave.’The statistics we had then was in December 2021. So, it’s either they are planning to leave or they have thought of leaving.’

Identifying the reasons behind the development, Ishaya said, ‘As we speak, I am aware that a lot of my colleagues are working towards leaving the country, and there are a lot of factors responsible for that. The push factor is majorly the economy.

‘Of course, you will agree with me that we are having inflation in the country and the rate at which our naira is being devalued is alarming. If you compare our pay with the pay where most of these health workers go, you will discover that what we earn here is not up to one-tenth of what they get practising there.

‘As long as these factors exist, our members and other health workers will continue to seek greener pastures except if things are done to reverse them.’

Ishaya added that currently, there are only 9,297 resident doctors in the FTHI and there are between 2,000 and 3,000 resident doctors in the STHI.

Africa Daily News, New York

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