The UK has stopped “actively recruiting” qualified and experienced health and social workers from Nigeria and 53 other countries around the world, most of which are African countries.
In its updated Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Workers in England, the UK has included Nigeria and other countries on its red list, which is based on the WHO Workforce Protection and Support List 2023.
Other Red List countries include Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana , Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos and Lesotho.
The other countries are Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, East Timor, Togo and Tuvalu. Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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“There should be no active international recruitment from Red List countries unless there is an express agreement between governments to support controlled recruitment activities conducted strictly in accordance with the terms of that agreement,” the UK said in his report. The updated Policy for Health and Social Workers was published in March 2023.
However, the UK government said the list does not prevent health and social care workers from applying independently to health and social care employers to work in the UK “with their consent and without the support of any third party such as an employment agency or an employer (known as direct application)”.
The UK also said the restrictions will not apply to healthcare professionals from red-listed countries but who do not reside there or in another red-listed country.
The suspension of active recruitment of Nigerian health and social workers comes amid outrage over a move by the Nigerian House of Representatives to authorize medical graduates to serve in Nigeria for five years before being granted a full license.
The House of Representatives recently passed on second reading the Doctors and Nurses (Amendment) Act 2022, which aims to force Nigerian-trained doctors, nurse, and health professionals to immigrate to the country to work in Europe and other parts of the country.
