Nigeria diaspora doctor recruitment

In late July 2026, Nigeria’s federal government announced a package of incentives to draw health professionals from the diaspora back to the country. The measures include simplified licensing, visa and customs waivers, streamlined locum arrangements, investment incentives for hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturing, and the launch of the Nigerians in Diaspora Advanced Health (NiDAH) portal and a Diaspora Health Registry. The initiative, highlighted at the National Diaspora Merit Award Dinner, has already supported nearly 10,000 Nigerians through specialist consultations, surgeries, telemedicine and sickle‑cell screening, and provided training for more than 2,000 frontline health workers.

Two days later, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria formally registered 250 foreign‑trained health professionals—238 doctors and 12 dentists—after they passed a national assessment. The ceremony underscored the government’s commitment to closing the doctor‑to‑patient ratio gap and urged new practitioners to use digital tools responsibly, marking the first concrete step in implementing the broader diaspora recruitment strategy.