According to the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), at least 75,000 Nigerian nurses and midwives have fled the nation in the previous five years as a result of the widespread “Japa syndrome.”
The Association, which made this announcement at the 2023 International Nurses Week held in Abuja on Friday, said that the reason nurses and midwives departed the country was because of the sector’s low pay and offensive working conditions.
The organization also claimed that increased occurrences of kidnapping its members for ransom and violence against them at work while they carried out their legal responsibilities contributed to its members’ exodus.
If the trend is not reversed, more nurses will leave the nation, according to the president of the nurses association, Comrade Micheal Nnachi, who spoke on the topic “Our Nurses, Our Future.”
“Over 75,000 nurses and midwives have emigrated from Nigeria in the last five years as a result of low earnings and a lack of respectable working conditions.
“Shortage of Nurses and Midwives, especially in certain areas of specialization and geographical regions, the increased rates of attrition and a chronic shortage of nursing personnel in the country increased workloads on nurses without compensation, exposing them to more health hazards and compromising the quality of healthcare delivery,” he said.
In the same vein, Comrade Israel Blessing, vice president of NANNM, said:
“The shortfall of midwives in Nigeria is estimated to be over 30,000, or 6 per 10,000 people, according to the 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery study. Around 70,000 more midwife jobs are required by 2030 to address the gap, but according to current projections, only 40,000 will be added by that time.
“The demand for vital maternal and reproductive health care is not being addressed in Northern Nigeria, where the deficit is particularly severe.”