Global body criticises rich countries poaching, as Nigeria loses 2,998 nurses to UK
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria lost 2,998 trained nurses to the United Kingdom between 2021 and 2022 alone, a trend the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has criticised, describing it as poaching by rich nations from poor countries, which has got “out of control.”
“My sense is that the situation currently is out of control,” ICN Chief Executive, Howard Catton, told the BBC:
“We have intense recruitment taking place mainly driven by six or seven high-income countries but with recruitment from countries which are some of the weakest and most vulnerable which can ill-afford to lose their nurses.”
A report first published by UK’s Daily Mail quoted ICN as saying six or seven high-income countries are driving “intense recruitment” from places that “can ill-afford to lose their nurses.”
India and The Philippines account for the lion’s share of recruits between 2021 and 2022. But a fifth came from Nigeria, Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan – part of “red listed” countries, where the UK National Health Service (NHS) is banned from actively recruiting nurses.
The data, which was provided by UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council, covers the period before Britain struck a deal with Nepal to allow the NHS recruit nurses from that country.
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Countries worst hit
Ghana is one of the worst hit, with hospitals warning their workforce has been slashed as staff rushed to fill NHS posts they found on social media.
Data from NHS England, which has 112,000 vacancies, suggests approximately two-thirds of the increase in staff hired since 2019 were trained abroad, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
Latest data shows the NHS is recruiting more foreign nurses than before, with 44,000 joining the service since 2019, compared to 22,000 trained in the UK.
Most recruits were from India, The Philippines, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Ghana.