Africa: 42 Percent of African Nurses Intend to Leave Amid Health Workforce Crisis
- On 12 May 2025, the World Health Organization revealed that 42 percent of nurses in Africa intend to emigrate amid health workforce challenges.
- Nigeria has been particularly affected by persistent workforce shortages, with more than 15,000 nurses receiving official approval to migrate for employment overseas during the period from 2021 to 2023.
- Although Africa’s nursing workforce nearly doubled to 1.7 million in 2023, the region still has one of the world’s lowest nurse-to-population ratios at 14.1 per 100,000 people.
- Acting WHO Regional Director Chikwe Ihekweazu called this an "alarming trend," warning it limits access to essential care and slows progress toward universal health coverage.
- The WHO urges governments to expand education, improve pay and support, strengthen regulation, create advanced roles, and invest in leadership to retain nurses and strengthen health systems.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Low- and middle-income countries face challenges in graduating, employing, and retaining nurses in health systems: WHO report
Mental health, and workforce well-being remain areas of concern; inequities in the global nursing workforce impact access to essential health services; wide disparities remain in the availability of nurses across regions and countries
42% of African Nurses intend to leave amid health workforce crisis
The report revealed that nearly 80 per cent of nurses serve only 49 per cent of the world’s population. The post 42% of African Nurses intend to leave amid health workforce crisis – WHO appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
42% of nurses intend to emigrate from Africa
The World Health Organisation, WHO, has raised the alarm as 42 per cent of nurses in Africa have reported intentions to emigrate, posing a significant threat to the region’s already strained healthcare workforce. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, issued the warning in his message on Saturday, marking International Nurses Day. Ihekweazu highlighted that while the global nursing workforce had increased to 29.8 milli…


About 78% of nurses serve 49% of the world's population
The report on the World situation of the 2025 Disease, published on the International Women's Day, indicates that inequalities do not only persist as they have deteriorated in recent years, existing between regions and countries, should be urgently addressed in order to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (ODS). There is a clear standard of inequality at the level of the distribution of nurses, education, s…
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