Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India and Pakistan.
This was contained in statements obtained from the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors who migrated to the UK as of August 30, 2022 stood at 10,096.
In an interview with newsmen the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Alfa Yusuf, described brain drain as a menace bedevilling the health sector in Nigeria.
Yusuf expressed fear that it may get to a stage where Nigeria will have to be scouting for doctors in the country.
He said, “The only way to solve this is for the government to come up with a policy to address brain drain: good remuneration, hazard allowance paid as and when due and introduction of tax rebate, especially to health care workers.
“They should also give packages that entice our doctors to other countries. They should look at packages that will make our doctors stay in the country and not go elsewhere.”
The President of the Nigeria Medical Association, Uche Ojinma, had, in an earlier interview with The PUNCH, noted that the brain drain being witnessed in the country would worsen the health sector.
The Minister of Health, Ehanire Osagie, had claimed that Nigeria has enough doctors.
Osagie, however, could not be reached for comments as calls and messages sent to him via his known telephone number were unanswered.
Other popular destinations for Nigeria-trained doctors include the United States, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia