Samuel Gabriel, Haruna Jonah Japhet
Department of International Humanitarian Action (NOHA) - Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), Ruhr Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Department of Nursing, Family Health International (FHI 360), Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Policy Polit Nurs Pract. 2025 Aug;26(3):177-187. doi: 10.1177/15271544251325483. Epub 2025 Mar 28.
The migration of skilled professionals from low- and middle-income countries to developed nations, commonly called the "brain drain," has emerged as a significant political, social, and economic issue in the healthcare sector, particularly among nurses. This paper aims to analyze the emigration of Nigerian nurses to the United Kingdom, the immediate challenges, and the efforts to address the issue. A narrative review approach was employed, which involved the identification of relevant literature utilizing search terms with various Boolean combinations derived from multiple electronic databases, organizational websites, and major news outlets. The results revealed that in the last 3 years (2022-2024), about 42,000 nurses have left Nigeria, with a large number moving to the United Kingdom, accounting for the largest portion of the NHS nursing workforce from sub-Saharan Africa in Great Britain. This accelerated emigration rate from Nigeria has been influenced by occupational dissatisfaction, sociopolitical instability, and inadequate social welfare provisions. This unbalanced emigration has caused a severe shortage of nurses in Nigeria, weakening the nation's healthcare system. As a result, there is an increased workload, lower quality of care, and ultimately, a negative impact on the morbidity and mortality rate. Therefore, it is recommended that the country reconsider its approach to manpower management by integrating technology and implementing policies to prolong nurses' retention and retirement age. Additionally, there is a need for research in nursing to assess the impact and effectiveness of existing policies and to develop strategies for controlling the emigration of nurses.
熟练专业人员从低收入和中等收入国家向发达国家的迁移，通常被称为“人才外流”，已成为医疗保健部门一个重大的政治、社会和经济问题，在护士群体中尤为突出。本文旨在分析尼日利亚护士移民到英国的情况、直接面临的挑战以及解决该问题所做的努力。采用了叙事性综述方法，包括利用从多个电子数据库、组织网站和主要新闻媒体获取的搜索词及各种布尔逻辑组合来识别相关文献。结果显示，在过去3年（2022 - 2024年），约4.2万名护士离开了尼日利亚，其中大量护士前往英国，占英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）来自撒哈拉以南非洲的护理人员的最大比例。尼日利亚这种加速的移民率受到职业不满、社会政治不稳定和社会福利供应不足的影响。这种不平衡的移民导致尼日利亚护士严重短缺，削弱了该国的医疗保健系统。结果，工作量增加、护理质量下降，最终对发病率和死亡率产生负面影响。因此，建议该国重新考虑其人力管理方法，通过整合技术和实施政策来延长护士的留用时间和退休年龄。此外，需要开展护理研究，以评估现有政策的影响和有效性，并制定控制护士移民的策略。
