UK pauses recruitment of health workers from Nigeria

 

The United Kingdom government announced its decision to put on hold the recruitment of health workers from Nigeria, placing the country on the red list of nations not to be targeted for recruitment.

from the desk of the World Health Organization (WHO) Nigeria was identified as one of 55 countries with significant health workforce challenges in a report released a March of 2023.

The UK government further advised health and social care employers to only employ workers from these regions only if there is a government-to-government agreement.

According to the UK General Medical Council’s data, there are 11,055 Nigerian-trained doctors currently living in the UK, which makes them third to India and Pakistan. in 2021, the UK suspended the recruitment of healthcare workers from Nigeria and 46 other countries, acclaiming that the increasing number of health and social care workers relocating from low and lower-middle-income countries threatens the achievement of their nation’s health and social care goals.

the order to pause this action is highlighted in a statement on the UK government’s website titled ‘Code of Practice for the international recruitment of Health and social care personnel in England.’

“Consistent with the WHO Global Code of Practice principles and articles, and as explicitly called for by the WHO Global Code of Practice 10-year review, the listed countries should be prioritized for health personnel development and health system-related support…” part of the statement reads.

“Countries on the list should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers, recruitment organizations, agencies, collaborations, or contracting bodies unless there is a government-to-government agreement in place to allow managed recruitment undertaken strictly in compliance with the terms of that agreement.

 

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