Northern states in Nigeria continue to face severe shortages of medical doctors and specialised health professionals, forcing many health facilities to rely heavily on community health workers for basic healthcare services.
This is according to the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on Sunday.
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Analysis of workforce data in the report shows regional disparities in the availability of doctors, nurses and other health professionals, with several northern states recording the lowest health worker densities in the country.
The report indicates that the shortage of doctors in many northern states has made community health practitioners (CHPs) the backbone of healthcare delivery in rural areas and primary health centres.
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Data presented in the report shows that community health practitioners are the largest professional group in Nigeria’s health workforce, with 223,802 individuals registered and licensed as of 2024.
It shows that 100 per cent of licensed CHPs are currently employed, compared with 51 per cent of licensed doctors and 62 per cent of pharmacists.
The concentration of community health practitioners is high in the North. Kaduna has the highest number of CHPs in the country with 11,973 practitioners, followed by Benue with 11,552 and Kano with 11,382.
Severe doctor shortages
A heat map on licensed medical doctor density per 10,000 population, included in the 2025 report, illustrates the geographic disparities in doctor availability across Nigeria.
The map shows that Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Edo and Enugu have the highest concentrations of doctors, each recording five or more doctors per 10,000 population.
States such as Ogun, Kwara, Plateau, Anambra, Rivers and Bayelsa fall within the moderate category, with around three doctors per 10,000 people.
However, most northern states fall into the lowest category. Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa record one doctor or fewer per 10,000 population, according to the analysis.
The report describes several states as facing extremely low doctor availability. Yobe, Kebbi, Zamfara and Jigawa record the lowest doctor density at 0.5 doctors per 10,000 population, meaning that a single doctor may serve about 20,000 people.
Other states including Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba and Katsina have only 0.7 doctors per 10,000 population.
The shortage of doctors in northern states is linked to factors such as insecurity, poor infrastructure, and the migration of trained health workers.
The report also highlights severe shortages of specialised professionals like radiographers, optometrists and physiotherapists in the northern region.
Uneven workforce distribution
Tables in the report analysing health workforce availability and distribution in 2024 further show the scale of disparities across states.
The data indicates that 95,456 doctors are registered in Nigeria, but only 60,551, or about 63 per cent, are currently licensed to practise.
Lagos has the highest number with 8,741 doctors, followed by the FCT with 5,505 and Rivers with 3,001.
Taraba has the lowest number of doctors with 256, while Zamfara and Kebbi have 298 and 312 doctors respectively.
The pattern is similar among nurses and midwives. Lagos has the largest workforce with 13,071 professionals, followed by the FCT with 5,578 and Oyo with 3,723.
By comparison, Yobe has only 522 nurses and midwives, the lowest figure nationwide, while Jigawa and Borno also record fewer than 1,000 professionals in that category.
For specialised professions, Lagos has 4,448 pharmacists, nearly double the number in the FCT with 2,320, while Zamfara has only 41 pharmacists.
In dental services, Lagos has 896 dental professionals, while Taraba has only eight, highlighting limited access to specialised care in some states.
Migration and workforce pressures
The report also highlights external migration as a factor affecting the availability of health professionals.
According to the data, 7,487 nurses and 3,919 doctors are recorded within external migration figures, highlighting the continued movement of Nigerian health workers abroad.
A bar chart comparing public and private sector employment of doctors shows a decline in the number of licensed doctors engaged in both sectors between 2023 and 2024.
Public sector employment dropped from 24,681 doctors in 2023 to 23,435 in 2024, while private sector engagement fell from 9,213 to 8,392 during the same period.
Despite the decline, the public sector remains the dominant employer of doctors, accounting for about 74 per cent of the engaged medical workforce, while the private sector employs 26 per cent.
Workforce strengthening efforts in 2025
The report notes that Nigeria intensified efforts in 2025 to strengthen the health workforce as part of broader sector reforms.
READ ALSO: Nigeria records 50% drop in maternal deaths in health facilities – Report
Nursing school enrolment increased from 37,470 students in 2023 to 44,451 in 2025, representing a 19 per cent rise.
The government also recruited 1,155 skilled birth attendants across five states and 13,434 community-based health workers across 11 states.
To support frontline workers, 60,000 midwives received workwear and personal protective equipment, while an additional 37,000 kits were procured for distribution.
Despite these efforts, the report notes that maldistribution of health workers remains a major challenge, particularly in rural communities and several northern states where shortages of doctors and specialists continue to affect access to healthcare.
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