Brain drain: Over 15,000 nurses left Nigeria in 2023 as NMCN justifies revised guidelines for certificate verification 

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief show,  Faruk Abubakar, the Registrar of NMCN, disclosed that  this  informed the revised guidelines, which nurses have rejected.

Nurses had besieged the NMCN offices in Abuja and Lagos to express their displeasure over what they described as deliberately orchestrated impediments to their freedom to pursue career opportunities.

The revised guidelines stated that applicants seeking verification of certificates from foreign nursing boards and councils must possess two years of post-qualification experience from the date of the permanent practising licence issuance.

However, Abubakar justified the revised guidelines because of the increasing number of nurses leaving the country yearly.

According to him: “42,000 nurses left the country in the last three years. Last year alone, it was over 15,000; the number is increasing yearly.”

Apart from the revised guidelines, Abubskar noted that the Federal Ministry of Health was working towards improving the nurses working conditions, allowances, and salaries.

“The FMoH and the Minister of State (for Health) are working hard to ensure a conducive working environment, providing state-of-art equipment and instruments to help them provide quality care for Nigerians,” he further said.

“And I want to assure (you) that within a couple of months, a lot has been integrated and provided in 2024 that will improve the welfare of the nurses we are talking about. When talking about the salary they are talking about, I think it’s a general phenomenon, and I believe it’s a general thing.

“There is a lot of progress going on to review the salary, and nurses are also included in that policy. I think it’s a general phenomenon; all other sectors are also complaining, and the government is doing a lot.”