The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s dwindling medical workforce, urging governments to improve doctors’ welfare, expand medical training and strengthen healthcare infrastructure to curb the migration of skilled professionals.
The association’s branches in Cross River, Kaduna, Bauchi and Ogun States made the call on Monday during briefings to mark the 2026 Physicians’ Week, warning that staff shortages, poor remuneration, insecurity and limited career opportunities were threatening healthcare delivery.
In Cross River State, the NMA Secretary, Dr Ukam Edadi, urged the government to ensure that the successful candidates in the recently conducted recruitment interviews for 40 doctors resumed work without delay.
Edadi also called for the introduction of Medicine and Surgery and other allied health programmes at the state-owned university to develop local medical manpower and support the proposed state specialist hospital.
He warned that establishing a specialist hospital without adequate personnel to operate it could undermine the project’s objectives.
In Kaduna State, the NMA Chairman, Dr Aisha Mustapha, disclosed that only about 1,600 doctors were currently licensed to practise, down from approximately 2,000 previously.
Mustapha attributed the decline to poor remuneration, insecurity, professional burnout, inadequate infrastructure and limited career progression, noting that the state had an estimated doctor-to-population ratio of one physician to 6,000 residents.
She called for increased recruitment, improved working conditions, salary harmonisation, reasonable duty schedules and better psychological support for medical professionals.
Similarly, the Bauchi State NMA urged the state and federal governments to improve healthcare workers’ welfare and introduce measures to retain skilled professionals.
The association also called for the commencement of internship and postgraduate medical training at the Specialist Hospital, Bauchi, to discourage doctors trained in the state from leaving.
In Ogun State, the NMA urged the government to allocate at least 15 per cent of its budget to healthcare, improve doctors’ welfare and strengthen public hospitals.
The state chairman, Dr Sunday Enimola, also called on governorship candidates and political parties to present clear, measurable and adequately funded healthcare plans for 2027 to 2031.
He stressed that healthcare should be treated as a strategic investment in the security, productivity and prosperity of the people rather than a peripheral issue during political campaigns.
