Outrage as UK Bans Active Recruitment of Health Workers From Nigeria

The United Kingdom has stopped active recruitment of skilled and experienced health and social care personnel from Nigeria and 53 other countries placed on red list.

The red list is based on the World Health Organisation Workforce Support and Safeguard List 2023.

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According to the UK’s updated ‘Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, the policy states, “There must be no active international recruitment from countries on the red list, unless there is an explicit government-to-government agreement to support managed recruitment activities that are undertaken strictly in compliance with the terms of that agreement.”

Other countries on this red list include Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, and Lesotho.

Others are Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan , Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The British Government however clarified that the list doesn’t prevent individual health and social care personnel from applying for work in the UK.

Individuals can independently applying to health and social care employers for employment in the UK.

“They can apply their own accord and without being targeted by a third party, such as a recruitment agency or employer (known as a direct application)”, the statement further explains.

Restrictions
The UK also stated that the restrictions do not apply to health workers from countries on the red list but who do not reside there or in another red list country.

The stoppage of active recruitment of Nigerian health and social workers comes amid outrage against the move by the House of Representatives to ensure medical graduates render services within Nigeria for five years before being granted a full license.

The Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which has passed second reading, seeks to compel Nigerian-trained doctors, nurses, and other health workers from emigrating the country to work in Europe and other parts of the world until they have served the country for five years.

Mass Exodus
For decades, Nigerian doctors and nurses have formed a considerable percentage of migrating young and skilled personnel in a phenomenon known as brain drain or colloquially called ‘japa’, which means to flee.

The number of emigrating Nigerian health workers to the UK and other places rose, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Despite government promises, both at the federal and state levels, issues of poor welfare, unpaid salaries, and other unfavorable work conditions have not been satisfactorily addressed, leading to the mass exodus of skilled health practitioners who are mostly embraced in places like the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, amongst others