(DDM) – The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has raised alarm over Canada’s upcoming Express Entry policy, set to create a fast-track immigration category for foreign-trained doctors by early 2026.
DDM notes that the NARD leadership believes the new policy will significantly worsen Nigeria’s existing shortage of medical professionals, as health workers are increasingly attracted to better opportunities abroad.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, NARD President Dr Mohammed Suleiman explained that globally, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers remain in critical shortage, creating high international demand for qualified personnel.
He said countries such as Canada are deliberately easing bureaucratic hurdles to recruit healthcare professionals from developing nations, and Nigeria’s doctors are prime targets for this migration.
“What countries do is to lessen the bureaucratic bottlenecks to getting these select few specialist care providers,” Dr Suleiman said.
“Now, they target doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from developing parts of the world. To a considerable extent, it works.”
Dr Suleiman revealed that approximately 5,000 Nigerian doctors left the country between 2024 and 2025, citing poor working conditions, excessive workloads, inadequate remuneration, stalled career progression, and difficulties in residency training as the main push factors.
He highlighted that even basic infrastructure such as reliable electricity in hospitals remains a challenge in many facilities, further motivating health workers to seek alternatives abroad.
“These kinds of opportunities that foreign countries provide tend to attract doctors from countries like Nigeria. It will hit Nigeria hard, definitely,” he warned.
The NARD president expressed concern that while foreign governments actively recruit healthcare workers, Nigerian doctors face delays in employment and slow government responses to agreements on improved working conditions.
He noted that despite waivers announced for over 20,000 health workers this year, none had received official employment letters, leaving qualified professionals frustrated and ready to consider opportunities abroad.
Dr Suleiman said the government’s slow implementation of agreements on workload management, burnout prevention, remuneration, and career advancement is fueling disillusionment among young doctors.
He added that union leaders continue to urge patience among members, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain professionals when viable alternatives are readily available internationally.
Dr Suleiman also pointed out the critical role Nigerian doctors play abroad, stating that health systems in the United States and the United Kingdom would face collapse without their contributions.
“If you pull out all the Nigerian doctors in the American health sector, and the NHS in the UK, those healthcare systems will collapse today,” he said.
He stressed that while Nigeria cannot match foreign salaries, reasonable attention to working conditions and career development is essential to curb the exodus.
The NARD president warned that if urgent action is not taken, Nigeria will face severe shortages of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists in the coming years, leading to repeated industrial actions and further deterioration of the healthcare system.
Stakeholders have urged the government to act swiftly to retain talent and improve conditions to prevent a worsening crisis in national health service delivery.
