Over 1,000 Medical Consultants Have Left Nigeria, 1/3 Of Those Left Will Retire Within The Next 5 Years – MDCAN

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has raised concerns about the exit of medical and dental consultants in Nigeria who have migrated to other countries within the last 5 years in search of greener pastures.

According to the association, 1,106 out of 6,137 medical and dental consultants in Nigeria have migrated to other countries within the last 5 years.

The MDCAN President, Professor Mohammad Aminu Mohammad, who raised the concern while briefing journalists on Tuesday, added that one-third of the remaining number are expected to retire or exit the system within the next five years.

According to him, 1,799 out of those remaining in the country, making 29.31 percent, are already 55 years and above.

The MDCAN boss said the figures were based on research conducted in January 2024, lamenting that the situation presents a concerning situation on the position of healthcare service provision, research and medical education in the country.

He said, “Study conducted in January 2024 showed that there were only 6,137 medical and dental consultants in Nigeria, 3,475 of them being hospital consultants while 2,668 were honorary consultants.

“The study further found that 1,106 medical consultants had migrated to other countries within the last 5 years and 1,799 out of the 6,137 (29.31%) were 55 years and above. This means that nearly a third of the present, albeit inadequate number of consultants will retire within the next 5 years. This is without taking into account that many other consultants may exit the civil service by some other means other than the obvious reasons stated above.

“This bleak scenario has inevitably enormous and far-reaching consequences to healthcare service provision, research and medical education.”

Mohammad disclosed further that the performance statistics of MDCAN include, “111,240 registered practitioners—92,883 medical and 5,500 dental, 11,634 additional qualifications registered, 36 registered alternative medicine practitioners. 60,411 annual practicing licences were renewed in 2024, and 114 housemanship training centres accredited consisting of 43 federal, 49 state, 15 privates, and seven military.

“There are also 42 fully accredited medical schools, 11 partially accredited medical schools, nine fully accredited dental schools, two partially accredited dental schools and 5,402 house officers trained via the Centralized Housemanship Portal from 2022 to 2024.”