Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria denies signing agreement with UK to stem exodus

MEDICAL and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) officials have denied signing a bilateral agreement with the UK government restricting the emigration of Nigerian doctors into Britain.

Amid a severe crisis in the Nigerian health sector, more and more doctors are leaving for abroad, with the UK among their top destinations. According to statistics published in the summer, at least three Nigerian doctors were licensed per day in June and July this year, despite moves by the Nigerian government to stop the exodus of doctors and health workers from the country.

Apparently, there are currently about 10,296 Nigeria-trained doctors practising in the UK according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) as the incessant brain drain that has seen physicians leave in large numbers continues unabated. Earlier this week, it was reported that the MDCN signed an agreement with the UK government to stem the exodus but this has been denied.

An MDCN spokesman said: “I’m hearing that during the visit of the MDCN team to the UK, there was a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and UK government that before any Nigerian doctor can practice and be registered in the UK, they must have worked in Nigeria for 10 years. Social media was flooded with fake news and misinterpretations over MDCN’s visit to the General Medical Council, UK.

“We have a lot of useful discussions amongst which is the possibility of the UK government repatriating some funds in line with global health initiatives from Nigerian doctors who were trained with taxpayers’ funds. Also, discussions around stemming the tide of brain drain also took place.

“Therefore, the rumour about a bilateral agreement that all Nigerian-trained doctors must practice in Nigeria for at least 10 years before being qualified to live and work in the UK or elsewhere is false uncalled for, mischievous and should be totally disregarded. No form of agreement was signed.”