NMA raises the alarm over doctors’ shortage in Kaduna
The Nigerian Medical Association in Kaduna warns of a severe doctor shortage, with only 1,600 licensed practitioners left, citing poor pay and insecurity. Read More:…
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is the umbrella professional body for licensed doctors in Nigeria, with state chapters that regularly speak out on working conditions, welfare, and the chronic shortage of medical personnel in the country. Nigeria has long grappled with a doctor-to-patient ratio far below World Health Organisation recommendations, a gap worsened by the "japa" wave of doctors emigrating abroad in search of better pay and safer, more stable working environments.
The headlines reflect two related but distinct warnings from different NMA chapters. The Kaduna chapter points to a sharp drop in the number of licensed practitioners still in service, linking it to poor remuneration and insecurity in the state. The Enugu chapter's statement focuses more broadly on doctors' own health and burnout, cautioning that overstretched practitioners risk being unable to deliver safe care if their welfare is neglected. Neither report yet details what concrete steps government or hospital authorities plan to take in response.