The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, says Nigeria has over 66,000 licensed medical and dental professionals, reflecting a slight growth despite the ongoing brain drain in the health sector.
Speaking at the 2025 Business Day Health Conference in Abuja on Thursday, Dr. Salako revealed that the number of licensed practitioners rose from 64,949 in 2022 to about 66,241 in 2024 — a two percent increase.
“The Nigerian health workforce has been under severe strain due to years of underinvestment, suboptimal working conditions, and migration pressures,” he said.
“To reverse this trend and restore the health workforce pipeline, we have introduced a comprehensive Human Resources for Health Development Strategy that is pragmatic, contextual, and future-facing.”
He explained that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Health Sector Renewal Initiative launched in December 2023, is expanding the training capacity of medical institutions and creating new ones.
According to him, admission quotas for medical and dental students have increased by 38 percent and 62 percent respectively since 2023, while the number of medical and dental schools has grown by 32 percent and 27 percent within the same period.
“In 2024 alone, 4,399 medical doctors and 274 dentists graduated in Nigeria. We have also established 19 new schools of nursing across the country and recruited about 15,000 health workers of various cadres to strengthen our federal health institutions,” the minister said.
Dr. Salako added that measures are being implemented to retain health professionals, including increased residency slots, improved remuneration packages, and performance-based incentives for those working in underserved areas.
He also disclosed that the government has finalised the National Health Workforce Registry and introduced digital platforms to track and support personnel. A health workers’ migration policy, he noted, is being put in place to better manage emigration and tap into the expertise of Nigerian professionals in the diaspora.
On infrastructure challenges, the minister highlighted unreliable electricity supply as a major setback to effective healthcare delivery. He announced the launch of the Energy for Health Initiative, designed to provide reliable, low-carbon power to federal tertiary hospitals and selected primary healthcare centres through solar hybrid systems and alternative energy sources.
“This agenda is already yielding results,” he said. “Institutions like the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, now run critical care units without power interruptions — a game-changer for service quality, patient safety, and staff morale.”
A complementary programme, tagged Power in the Health Sector, will refine policies and involve stakeholders — from government to civil society — in deploying sustainable energy solutions across the health sector.
“Our goal is clear: to build, retain, and reward a fit-for-purpose health workforce for today and tomorrow,” Dr. Salako concluded.
