Over 8,000 Nigerian Doctors Now Work In UK, 353 Registered In The Last 100-Day

The United Kingdom (UK) registered about 353 Nigerian doctors in the last 100 days, according to data from the General Medical Council – the body which licenses and maintains the official register of medical practitioners in the UK.

The GMC licensed at least 353 Nigerian-trained doctors between June 10, 2021, and September 20, 2021.

The statistics also showed that between July 24, 2020, and September 21, 2021, about 862 Nigeria-trained doctors were licensed in the UK despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data also showed that 8,737 doctors who obtained their degrees in Nigeria currently practice in the UK.

Officials of the National Association of Resident Doctors are speculating that the rate of migration might double in the coming weeks since doctors were not given the right remuneration.

They said that many Nigerian doctors are migrating to Saudi Arabia, which might be more than those moving to the UK.

A poll by NOI in 2018 showed that 88 percent of Nigerian doctors were considering work opportunities abroad, but experts say the figure may be higher due to the rising insecurity and economic crunch.