Nigerian medical associations unperturbed by recent restrictions imposed by UK authorities

NIGERIAN medical bodies said they do not believe that the recent restrictions imposed by the UK health authorities will succeed in reducing the number of medical professionals travelling to the country in search of greener pastures.

Last week, the UK placed Nigeria on the list of countries that should not be actively targeted for the recruitment by health and social care employers under a plan to discourage the active international recruitment of workers. In what involved the UK making an adjustment  to its code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel, Nigeria has been added to the country's red list.

This red list, is drawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO) health workforce support and safeguards list. In March, the WHO published the safeguards list comprising 55 countries, including Nigeria and other nations that are struggling with a shortage of health workers.

However, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors said they doubt of these new restrictions will not stop Nigerian doctors from migrating to other countries. They added that the UK can only define its terms as freedom of movement is a fundamental human right.

NMA president, Dr Uche Ojinmah, said: “I don’t actually begrudge the UK for recruiting Nigerian doctors because it’s the poor treatment they are getting from Nigeria that’s pushing them away. If the Nigerian government and people place a premium on Nigerians, they obviously won’t migrate.

“It is okay that the UK is placing us on the lower rungs for recruitment but what about the United States of America, Canada, Grenada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, South Africa, Germany, etc? Nobody can take away the freedom of movement, it’s a fundamental right. They can only define the terms.”

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors president Dr Emeka Orji, added: “The truth is that it is not only the UK that Nigerian health workers go to and even with this list, it only means that they will not only be headhunting our health workers. So, that doesn’t mean people can’t apply to work in the UK.”

Some officials of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had, in October 2022, visited the General Medical Council (GMC) office in Manchester, UK. Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India, and Pakistan,  as there are currently 11,055 Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK, based on statistics obtained from the GMC.