The Nigerian government has said it has increased the annual enrollment of nurses which used to be 28,000 to 68,000, adding that by the end of 2024, it would go further up to 120,000.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Saturday, stated this nothing that the Federal Government had also directed that health workers going abroad to seek greener pastures must henceforth resign their appointments before embarking on such journeys.
Alausa said the era of health workers exiting to other countries in search of better offers after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.
The minister said that the ban on the leave of absence for health workers emanated from the executive order issued by President Bola Tinubu as part of drastic steps to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the nation’s health sector.
This is just as Alausa also revealed that the FG has commenced the production of manpower in the health sector such that the annual enrolment of nurses which used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and that by the end of this year, it would have gone up to 120,000.
The minister stated this on Saturday during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
