By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A total of 3,173 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom in one year, Saturday PUNCHreports.
This is according to the latest report on the number of nursing and midwifery professionals on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, obtained exclusively from the council.
The report also showed that so far, 13,656 nurses and midwives educated in Nigeria were practising in the UK.
The NMC data noted that on March 31, 2024, “there were a total of 826,418 nursing and midwifery professionals on our register.
“Of this number, 13,656 were educated in Nigeria. In the 12 months to March 31, 2024, 3,173 people who were educated in Nigeria joined our register for the first time.”
The NMC is the regulator for nursing and midwifery in the UK and it maintains a register of all nurses, midwives, and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise in the UK.
According to the report, Nigeria is one of the top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024, and the number of Nigerian nurses and midwives practising in the UK increased by 28.3 per cent in one year.
Other top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024, compared to last year are India (62,413), Philippines (49,092), Romania (7,378), and Ghana (5,536).
In 2023, the World Health Organisation said Nigeria and 54 other countries were facing the most pressing health workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.