Doctor Shortages Deepen Pressure on Health Services Across Nigerian States
Medical associations in several states are warning that doctor shortages, workforce attrition and difficult working conditions are putting growing pressure on health services.
The figures vary across Ondo, Kaduna, Kwara, Bauchi, Cross River and the Federal Capital Territory.
But the pattern is similar: fewer doctors in some public facilities, heavier workloads for those who remain and growing pressure on governments to recruit and retain medical workers.
Ondo NMA Says About 500 Doctors Remain
The Nigerian Medical Association in Ondo State says about 500 doctors remain in public health institutions across the state, excluding the private sector.
The association says roughly 400 doctors have been lost to migration and other forms of attrition over the past five years.
According to the chapter, that decline has increased pressure on doctors still working in the public system.
The figures are specific to Ondo and should not be treated as a national count.
Kaduna Reports a Fall in Licensed Doctors
In Kaduna, the NMA says about 1,600 doctors are currently licensed to practise in the state, down from roughly 2,000 previously.
The association links the decline to several pressures, including insecurity, poor remuneration, burnout and inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
That suggests the workforce problem is broader than migration alone.
Kwara Doctors Report Severe Staffing Gaps
The Kwara NMA says some general hospitals have only one or two doctors.
The chapter has also raised concerns about pay, salary deductions and the workload facing doctors in public facilities.
It cited a national doctor-to-patient ratio estimate as part of its warning, but IDNN is not treating that figure as the definitive national benchmark because professional and institutional sources use different estimates and methods.
Can Recruitment Keep Up?
The central question is whether recruitment is replacing the doctors being lost.
In Cross River, the NMA has urged the government to ensure that doctors selected through a recent recruitment exercise actually resume work.
In Bauchi, the association has called for better working conditions, stronger retention measures and more internship and postgraduate training opportunities.
Across the states, the demands are similar: better pay, safer workplaces, equipment, career progression and training.
Patients Can Feel the Pressure
Doctor shortages can affect patients through longer waiting times, fewer specialists, heavier caseloads and reduced access to some services.
The effect varies by hospital, specialty and location.
That is why workforce pressure should be measured not only by the number of doctors available, but also by where they are working and which services are hardest to access.
Recruitment and Infrastructure Are Different Responses
Government responses include both workforce recruitment and wider health-system investment.
Borno State says it recruited nearly 2,000 health workers over two years to reduce staffing gaps.
Separately, the Federal Government says thousands of Primary Healthcare Centres have been completed or are nearing completion under its revitalisation programme.
Those interventions address different problems.
Recruitment can close staffing gaps. Infrastructure upgrades can improve the environment in which care is delivered.
Neither alone resolves retention problems, specialist shortages or unequal distribution of doctors.
The Accountability Test
The key question is whether recruitment is keeping pace with attrition — and whether doctors are being retained and deployed where shortages are most severe.
Answering that requires current data on active doctors, vacancies, recruitment, departures and distribution across states and specialties.
It also requires separating three related problems: an overall shortage of doctors, uneven distribution of available doctors and the loss of trained professionals through migration and other forms of attrition.
What IDNN Is Watching
IDNN will monitor state recruitment drives, retention measures, doctor vacancy data, specialist shortages and any updated federal or Medical and Dental Council figures on Nigeria’s active medical workforce.
