Crisis of Brain Drain in Nigeria’s Health Sector: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path Forward
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25259/IJMA_11_2025Keywords:
- Brain Drain,
- Health Professionals,
- Infant Mortality,
- Maternal Mortality,
- Medical Tourism
Abstract
Brain drain represents an existential threat to the health ecosystem in Nigeria as an increasing number of health professionals migrate to developed and industrialized nations where they are guaranteed higher salaries, better job security, and a more conducive work environment. As of 2023, the United Kingdom remains the leading destination, with over 12,000 Nigerian doctors, while the United States, Canada, and Germany follow closely. While these migrations provide individual doctors with career advancement and financial security, they leave behind a healthcare system teetering on the edge. The shortage of healthcare professionals is already having profound effects on Nigeria’s health indices, including a staggering burden of maternal-infant morbidity and mortality. The solution to this medical “tsunami” consists of improving the welfare of healthcare workers, creating more job opportunities, and investing in modern healthcare infrastructure. Ultimately, sound political and visionary leadership is required for any lasting solution to the current healthcare brain drain, which threatens health security in Nigeria.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Zenab I. Yusuf, Deepa Dongarwar, Rafeek A Yusuf, Meishon Bell, Toi Harris Harris, Hamisu M. Salihu, Social Determinants of Overweight and Obesity Among Children in the United States , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 9 No. 1 (2020): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Amina Abdullahi, Hassan Adam Murtala, Aisha Adam Abdullahi, Amina Aminu, Muktar H. Aliyu, Sani H. Aliyu, Ololade D. Adeyemi, Deepa Dongarwar, Jordi B. Torrelles, Gambo Aliyu, Hamisu M. Salihu, Drivers of Human Immunodeficiency Virus among Pregnant Women in Conflict and Non-conflict Zones of Nigeria , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 14 No. Continuous (2025): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Devon Madelyn Rupley, Deepa Dongarwar, Hamisu M. Salihu, Allison M. Janda, Rachel Pope, Healthcare Access as a Risk-Marker for Obstetric Vesicovaginal Fistula in Malawi , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 9 No. 1 (2020): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Hamisu M. Salih, Deepa Dongarwar, Muktar H. Aliyu, Romuladus E. Azuine, Global Ranking of COVID-19-Related Mortality by Country using a Novel Pandemic Efficiency Index (PEI) , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 9 No. 2 (2020): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Hamisu M. Salihu, Amina A. Umar, Romuladus E. Azuine, Special Collection: Implementation Research Evidence for Prevention and Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage in High-Burden Low- and Middle-Income Countries , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 13 No. S1 (2024): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Zubairu Iliyasux, Amina A. Umar, Fatima S. Gaya, Nafisa S. Nass, Hadiza M. Abdullahi, Aminatu A. Kwaku, Taiwo G. Amole, Fatimah I. Tsiga-Ahmed, Hadiza S. Galadanci, Hamisu M. Salihu, Muktar H. Aliyu, ‘We delivered at home out of fear’: Maternity Care in Rural Nigeria During the COVID-19 Pandemic , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 12 No. 1 (2023): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Ahmad Abdulhadi, Nasiru Abdullahi, Ibrahim Yusuf, Basheer I. Waziri, Kasimu Mamuda , Husna F. Ibrahim, Khadija Muhammad, Maryam M. Ibrahim , Aisha A. Abdullahi, Hassan A. Murtala, Muhammad A. Abbas, Hamisu M. Salihu, A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on Innovative Approaches in Tuberculosis Diagnosis: Challenges and Future Directions , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 15 (2026): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Muhammad Adamu Abbas, Hassan Adam Murtala, Fauziyya S. Abdullahi, Abubakar L. Yusuf, Aisha Adam Abdullahi, Amina Aminu, Aisha Mustapha, Eknath Naik, Hamisu M. Salihu, Intent to Receive Human Papillomavirus Vaccination among School-going Pre-teens and Adolescent Girls , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 14 No. Continuous (2025): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Hamisu M. Salihu, Deepa Dongarwar, Toi B. Harris, Third Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on June 9, 2020: ABSTRACT: Advancing Health Equity Through Innovation , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 9 No. S3 (2020): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Deepa Dongarwar, Hamisu M. Salihu, Place of Residence and Inequities in Adverse Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes in India , International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS: Vol. 9 No. 1 (2020): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
Similar Articles
- Charles Chibuisi Ehiemere, Ishaku Adamu Akyala, Bisayo Adetuyi Ogundipe, Chukwuebuka Clement Nri-Ezedi, Peter Joseph Anzaku, Waryit Esther Yonah, Efe Mary Imokhai, Isaac Onyebuchi Okohu, Idowu Olapemi Makinde, Ngozi Miriam Chimzobam-Nnalue, Beyond Access: Behavior Change and Gendered Realities in the Adoption of Digital Health Tools for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Nigeria , Vol. 15 (2026): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Amol Jamkhande, Bhagyashree P. Agre, Neelam Gavali, Anjali Rajesh Gaikwad, Sanpreet Singh Sachdev, Association Between Maternal Periodontitis and Preterm Low Birth Weight in Indian Populations: A Literature Review , Vol. 15 (2026): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Maria Vigil-Mallette, Daryle Pickens, Julliet Ogu, Deepa Dongarwar, Elizabeth Onugha, Hamisu M Salihu, Fifth Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on May 17, 2022 , Vol. 11 No. S2 (2022): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Margaret Omowaleola Akinwaare, Jonah Musa, Chizoma Millicent Ndikom, Determinants of Digitalized Antenatal Education Use among Pregnant Women Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Nigeria , Vol. 15 (2026): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Elizabeth Armstrong-Mensah, Damilola Dada, Amber Bowers, Aruba Muhammad, Chisom Nnoli, Geographic, Health Care Access, Racial Discrimination, and Socioeconomic Determinants of Maternal Mortality in Georgia, United States , Vol. 10 No. 2 (2021): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Gopal K. Singh, Trends and Social Inequalities in Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1969-2018 , Vol. 10 No. 1 (2021): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Gopal K. Singh, Gem P. Daus, Michelle Allender, Christine T. Ramey, Elijah K. Martin, Chrisp Perry, Andrew A. De Los Reyes, Ivy P. Vedamuthu, Social Determinants of Health in the United States: Addressing Major Health Inequality Trends for the Nation, 1935-2016 , Vol. 6 No. 2 (2017): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Gopal K. Singh, Stella M. Yu, Infant Mortality in the United States, 1915-2017: Large Social Inequalities have Persisted for Over a Century , Vol. 8 No. 1 (2019): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Océane J. Parker, Duc Minh Duong, Thuy Thu Nguyen, Vui Thi Le, Utilization of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Services Among Young Women in Two Districts of Hanoi, Vietnam , Vol. 15 (2026): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
- Deepa Dongarwar, Toi B. Harris, Hamisu M. Salihu, Fourth Annual Summer Research Summit on Health Equity Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on May 20, 2021 , Vol. 10 No. S3 (2021): International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Abstract Views: 4845
PDF Views/Downloads: 615
HTML Views/Downloads: 186
Published
2025-05-16
Dimensions Citation count:
How to Cite
A. Umar, A., M. Salihu, H., & E. Azuine, R. (2025). Crisis of Brain Drain in Nigeria’s Health Sector: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path Forward. International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS, 14(Continuous), e011. https://doi.org/10.25259/IJMA_11_2025
Issue
Section
EDITORIAL | BRAIN DRAIN
License
Copyright © 2025 Amina A. Umar, Hamisu M. Salihu, Romuladus E. Azuine. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc., USA.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , which permits others to remix, transform, and build upon the work non-commercially, provided the original author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the same terms.