UK places recruitment of Nigeria’s health workers on red list over braindrain
By Maureen Ikpeama
Nigeria has been placed on the red list of countries by the United Kingdom, indicating that health and social care employers should not actively target recruitment from these countries unless there is a government-to-government agreement in place.
This decision follows the World Health Organisation’s listing of 55 countries, including Nigeria, as facing significant health workforce challenges related to Universal Health Coverage.
The UK government’s code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England follows the methodology contained in the 10-year review of the WHO global code of practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
This code states that countries on the red list should be prioritised for health personnel development and health system-related support, and safeguards should be put in place to discourage active international recruitment of health personnel.
Recruitment from amber countries, such as Kenya and Nepal, is only permitted in compliance with government-to-government agreements, while recruitment from green-graded countries, such as India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka, is actively permitted with government-to-government agreements in place