By Mustapha Salisu
The continuous exodus of doctors has significantly depleted Nigeria’s healthcare workforce, with the number of resident doctors falling from about 25,000 fifteen years ago to roughly 12,000 today despite the country’s population growing to an estimated 240–250 million, President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Muhammad Usman Suleiman, has said.
Dr. Suleiman disclosed this during the association’s 2026 Ordinary General Meeting (OGM), tagged “Pyramid City 2026,” held in Kano under the theme: “Caring for the Caregivers: Mental Health and Emotional Resilience in Residency Training.”
He said the country’s healthcare system is facing mounting pressure as more doctors continue to leave Nigeria in search of better opportunities abroad.
According to him, the number of consultant doctors has also declined significantly, dropping from about 14,000–15,000 in previous years to between 6,000 and 7,000 currently.
Dr. Suleiman further revealed that while Nigeria graduated between 3,500 and 3,600 doctors in 2024, about 4,700 doctors left the country within the same period.
“What this means is that we are losing more doctors than we are producing. The numbers are alarming and urgent steps must be taken to reverse the trend,” he said.
He cited studies indicating that Nigeria now has only one doctor for every 10,000 to 13,000 citizens, a situation he said has increased the workload on healthcare professionals and contributed to burnout and emotional exhaustion.
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The NARD president attributed the mass migration of doctors to poor remuneration, inadequate working conditions, insecurity and challenges relating to professional certification recognition.
He called for improved welfare packages, better working conditions and expanded training opportunities to make medical practice in Nigeria more attractive.
Dr. Suleiman, however, commended the Kano State Government for efforts aimed at improving healthcare delivery through hospital upgrades, expansion of residency training programmes and plans to recruit additional healthcare workers.
He noted that over 300 primary healthcare centres had been renovated across the state, while plans were underway to employ about 7,000 healthcare personnel to reduce pressure on tertiary health institutions.
Earlier, President of the Association of Resident Doctors, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Bello Aminu Bello, described the conference theme as timely, noting that resident doctors continue to face long working hours, workforce shortages, burnout and emotional fatigue.
Also speaking, Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to improving the welfare of healthcare workers through enhanced remuneration, improved security, recruitment of additional personnel and provision of rest facilities for resident doctors.