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We have learned that no fewer than 162 doctors with training in Nigeria have received licenses to practice in the United Kingdom in the last six weeks.
According to the General Medical Council of the UK's registration, this is the case. The official list of doctors in the UK is kept up to date by the GMC, a public organization.
The number of doctors trained in Nigeria who are currently practicing in the UK increased from 10,824 to 10,986, according to our correspondent, who has been watching the GMC website for the past 42 days.
This suggests that from February 2 to March 15, 2023, at least three doctors with medical training in Nigeria received licenses each day.
Nigeria has recently experienced a concerning brain drain as many professionals, including physicians, have left the nation in search of better opportunities.
Also, it was noted that Nigeria, behind Pakistan(18,490) and India(31,979), has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.
The World Health Organization warned that this might have a negative effect on the healthcare system and impede efforts to achieve universal health coverage and health security, notwithstanding the Federal Government's assertion that brain drain is not unique to Nigeria.
Nigeria and 36 other African nations face the most urgent health workforce difficulties connected to UHC, according to a 2023 WHO health workforce support and safeguards list study.
"There is a need for a review of the compensation system, and the government needs to collaborate with the medical bodies to settle their lingering concerns," said Emeka Orji, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians."
Dr. Victor Makanjuola, president of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, also reacted, stating that the nation needs to create 12,000 doctors yearly to meet the necessary quota of medical professionals.
According to Makanjuola's alarming data, nine out of ten medical and dental consultants with less than five years of experience intend to leave the nation in search of better opportunities.
