Why Other Countries Hire Doctors and Nurses from Nigeria — Pate

Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health 

According to the inadequate training that Nigerian health workers received, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, claims that other countries are hiring Nigerian health workers who left the country for better opportunities abroad.

The Ministry of Information and National Orientation held a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, during which Pate made this statement.

“There is no country in the world today that has enough health workers for what it needs, that is why they are poaching from us. That is why the developed nations are recruiting our doctors because we train our doctors, our nurses, our health workers so well, that's why they are being recruited,” the minister said.

He urged states to set up training facilities where new physicians and nurses would be educated to fill the void left by those who departed the nation to practice abroad, as well as on parents to support their children in pursuing medical degrees.

“So, what are we doing about it? We manage migration policy whereby we acknowledge that some will leave but let's train more and the expansion of the training and that requires collaboration with the Ministry of Education but also the states themselves should have training institutions,” he said.

The minister of health expressed gratitude to those who have chosen to remain in the country and continue serving it.

“There are many health workers who could have left but are actually serving in this country because they really want to contribute in Nigeria. I saw many of them and we should appreciate them.”