The Federal Authorities has introduced a rise within the variety of nursing college students enrolled throughout the nation from 28,000 to an unprecedented 115,000 yearly.
That is a part of the federal government’s strategic efforts to shut the rising healthcare workforce hole.
This was disclosed by the Federal Ministry of Schooling in a press assertion launched on April 28, 2025.
The Ministry described the event as a “groundbreaking leap for Nigeria’s healthcare and schooling sectors,” noting that the enrollment development marks a key achievement to strengthen healthcare schooling.
“Annual nursing enrollment has surged from 28,000, because it was on Might twenty eighth, 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, led-administration was inaugurated, to an unprecedented 115,000 because of Mr. President’s initiative,” the assertion learn.
Backstory
The Nationwide Affiliation of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) not too long ago disclosed that greater than 75,000 nurses and midwives have left the nation prior to now 5 years in quest of higher alternatives overseas.
Michael Nnachi, the President of NANNM, acknowledged that poor wages and insufficient working circumstances are key drivers behind this mass exodus.
“The scarcity of nurses and midwives, particularly in specialised fields and sure geographical areas, has been exacerbated by a excessive attrition charge. This, coupled with a extreme lack of sufficient compensation for elevated workloads, has left many healthcare suppliers overburdened and weak to well being hazards, compromising the standard of care,” Nnachi defined.
Along with the nursing scarcity, the Vice President of NANNM, Israel Blessing, highlighted a big hole in midwifery companies. The 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery report indicated that Nigeria faces a shortfall of roughly 30,000 midwives, with solely a fraction of the required workforce prone to be skilled by 2030. The scarcity is especially dire in northern Nigeria, the place maternal and reproductive healthcare wants are most crucial.
Give attention to STEMM schooling
The Ministry linked the progress to the federal government’s emphasis on Science, Expertise, Engineering, Arithmetic, and Medical Sciences (STEMM).
It defined that each the Federal Ministries of Schooling and Well being & Social Welfare, led by Dr. Alausa and Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, respectively, labored collaboratively in the direction of the goal.
“The administration set out a goal of 110,000 nursing college students beneath the management of Dr. Alausa and Professor Pate, however annual enrollment has surged to 115,000,” the assertion learn.
- The Honourable Minister of Schooling, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, credited the position of stakeholders comparable to business leaders, the Nigerian Council of Nurses and Midwifery, instructing hospitals, and nursing establishments in reaching the milestone.
- The Minister reaffirmed the administration’s dedication to revitalizing the healthcare and schooling sectors beneath the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The elevated enrollment, the Ministry added, represents a “important capability signing and transformative period for nursing schooling in Nigeria,” positioning the nation to fulfill each home and worldwide calls for for skilled healthcare professionals.
What it is best to know
Lagos State authorities final week disclosed that it’s dealing with a extreme scarcity of medical personnel, with the state requiring a further 33,000 medical doctors and 33,000 nurses to fulfill the healthcare calls for of its quickly rising inhabitants.
- At the moment, Lagos has solely 7,000 medical doctors serving an estimated 30 million residents, a far cry from the optimum quantity wanted for efficient healthcare supply.
- Nairametrics reported that the federal authorities imposed a restriction on depart of absence for healthcare professionals in search of to maneuver abroad. Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Well being, acknowledged that this motion was adopted to counteract the phenomenon of mind drain within the well being
The minister defined that the problem had been that many well being professionals who utilized for depart of absence would journey outdoors the nation to follow and become profitable, but their names would nonetheless be on the payroll of the federal government. This, he stated, would make area for individuals who want to serve inside the nation.
