Health
Japa won’t guarantee career success abroad, stakeholders tell health workers
Citing opportunities in Nigeria’s health sector, stakeholders have advised health professionals planning to leave the country to practise abroad to think carefully before making the move, warning that relocating does not automatically guarantee career success.
They said health professionals should look beyond the challenges confronting Nigeria’s healthcare system and explore opportunities in healthcare entrepreneurship, investment, innovation, and service delivery.
Speaking at the Business of Health Conference in Lagos, themed “Reversing Medical Tourism: Building the Infrastructure that Brings the World to Nigeria for Care,” the stakeholders urged health workers to work together to address the sector’s challenges and build a healthcare system capable of attracting patients from other countries.
The leading healthcare leaders argued that rather than leaving Nigeria solely because of unfavourable working conditions, health workers should also consider how they could contribute to improving healthcare delivery and making the country a destination for quality medical care.
The conference, convened by the founder of Luxe Dental Clinic, Lagos, Dr Funmi Adeniyi, brought together healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, innovators and other stakeholders to examine how Nigeria could develop globally competitive healthcare businesses, institutions and infrastructure.
The stakeholders also cautioned health workers not to think that relocating to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and other developed countries would automatically translate into a successful medical career.
No fewer than 20,966 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year, official figures obtained by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.
The mass exodus includes 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and hundreds of other specialists, according to the State of Health of the Nation Report 2025.
In his presentation, which focused on the need to expand health insurance coverage to reverse medical tourism, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said Nigeria’s healthcare crisis was fundamentally an economic problem involving two interconnected components: the supply side, comprising hospitals, medical personnel, equipment and medicines, and the demand side, which concerns people’s ability to pay for healthcare.
Abayomi noted that even when modern hospitals and sophisticated medical equipment were available, the healthcare system could not remain sustainable if patients could not afford the services provided.
The commissioner said expanding health insurance coverage would reduce out-of-pocket spending and improve people’s ability to access healthcare.
He cited developed countries where health insurance coverage helps protect citizens from paying the full cost of medical treatment directly.
Expressing concern over the amount Nigerians spend on healthcare, Abayomi said the country’s healthcare financing system remained heavily dependent on out-of-pocket payments, with only a small proportion of the population covered by health insurance.
“Nigerians spent N33tn on health, which is half of the Federal Government budget. This is a major issue. So Nigerians are spending money on health. Seventy-six per cent of Nigerians pay for healthcare out of pocket. Only two per cent of Nigerians have health insurance.
“Health is not free; somebody must pay for it. We must change that 76 per cent to zero. We need to move that to health insurance.
“Abroad, you don’t see people pay out of pocket. If you can insure your car, why can’t you insure your health?” the commissioner said.
He said the Lagos State Government was intensifying efforts to make health insurance compulsory for residents as part of reforms aimed at expanding access to healthcare, improving medical financing and reversing medical tourism and the migration of healthcare professionals.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, urged healthcare professionals, particularly young practitioners considering leaving Nigeria, to weigh their options carefully.
Ogunsola said healthcare professionals should look beyond Nigeria’s challenges and leverage them as opportunities for innovation, professional growth and successful careers at home.
“Nigeria is tough, but challenges are really the other side of opportunity, because opportunities are the things you need to solve, and that’s where the money will come from.
“So people are planning to go abroad. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think they are thinking it through, because nowhere is perfect. There are problems in Nigeria, just as there are problems abroad. Young people must therefore think carefully about the problems they are leaving behind and those they may encounter abroad.
“Living abroad can be emotionally draining, and the world is not becoming kinder to those of us with black skin. So, this might not be the best time to leave. Nigeria is developing, and it might be better to stay and be part of that growth. It will be tough, but if you succeed, you will be glad you came in early.
“Young people should look around for opportunities because, right now, we are so blinded by the problems that we are failing to see the opportunities,” the UNILAG VC said.
The don urged young and practising healthcare professionals to look beyond the difficulties facing the country and explore opportunities to improve healthcare delivery, create value and build successful careers in Nigeria.
She, however, stressed that improving the sector would require greater accountability, adherence to professional standards and stronger institutional oversight.
She also called for stronger teamwork across the healthcare sector, identifying professional divisions and tribalism as obstacles to collective progress.
Ogunsola urged healthcare professionals to collaborate not only with colleagues across medical disciplines but also with experts in other industries whose knowledge and experience could improve healthcare delivery.
In her opening address, the convener of the Business of Health Conference and founder of Luxe Dental Clinic, Dr Funmi Adeniyi, said Nigeria’s healthcare system needed people willing to invest, innovate, collaborate and build sustainable institutions.
Adeniyi, an executive director of the Smile Doctor Foundation, urged healthcare professionals to acquire business knowledge and develop sustainable models for delivering quality care.
“Time to build. Let’s build healthcare in Nigeria, and let’s learn business so that we can grow again,” she said.
She expressed optimism that increased investment, affordable service models, professional collaboration and improved business knowledge could unlock the potential of Nigeria’s healthcare sector, create opportunities for young professionals and reduce the factors driving medical migration and treatment abroad.
“There’s also a lot of opportunity in Nigeria. We know that we have problems, but those problems are opportunities in disguise. And so I just wanted to spotlight the problems and the opportunities if we turn it around.
“There’s no limit to how we can grow as an industry in Nigeria, because I desire a country where medical practitioners who are trained so rigorously are remunerated accordingly and feel a sense of pride practising in their homeland. And so that’s why we’re here today,” she said.
Adeniyi said maintaining high institutional standards was essential to reversing medical tourism and attracting both local and international patients.
“For too long, the discussion around Nigerian healthcare has been dominated by deficiencies: insufficient infrastructure, limited specialist services, financing gaps, talent migration, and the number of Nigerians who seek care abroad.
“That is why we are asking a more productive national question: What can we build here?” she said.
The President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Njide Ndili, stressed the need for increased capital investment to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, acquire modern medical equipment and train qualified personnel to provide specialised treatments locally.
According to her, many Nigerians travel abroad to access specialised services, including cancer treatment and advanced surgical procedures, because of gaps in the availability of such services locally.
Addressing these gaps, Ndili said, would improve the quality of care available in Nigeria and reduce the need for patients to seek treatment overseas.
The HFN president urged private-sector healthcare professionals and organisations to take greater responsibility for strengthening the health system rather than relying solely on government intervention.
She identified opportunities for private-sector participation in healthcare financing, professional training and capacity development, as well as improvements in clinical processes.
Ndili also emphasised the need for collaboration among doctors, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, radiologists and other healthcare professionals to ensure patients receive comprehensive, coordinated care.
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