THE Federal Government has officially unveiled the Nigerians in Diaspora Advanced Health Programme (NiDAH-P), a groundbreaking initiative designed to harness the expertise of Nigerian health professionals worldwide and deploy their knowledge to strengthen healthcare delivery at home.
The programme, launched in Abuja on Friday by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), creates a structured platform through which Nigerian doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals abroad can support healthcare delivery, medical education, research and specialist services through both physical and virtual engagements.
‘Beyond Lamenting the Departure’
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by Permanent Secretary Mrs. Daju Kachollom, declared that the initiative signals Nigeria’s readiness to move beyond lamenting the migration of health professionals.
“What we are doing today is not merely launching a programme or a portal; we are making a statement that Nigeria is ready to move beyond lamenting the departure of our health professionals and is now committed to building the structures that will bring their expertise back in a meaningful, coordinated and sustainable way,” Pate stated.
The minister noted that for decades, Nigeria has grappled with healthcare worker shortages while its highly skilled professionals continue to excel in leading health institutions worldwide.
“We have felt the tension with pride and pain, proud of their achievements but pained by their absence. Today, we begin to resolve that tension,” he said.
Nearly a Decade in the Making
The NiDAH-P initiative was developed after years of policy work and extensive stakeholder consultations dating back to 2016, drawing lessons from countries including the Philippines, India, Rwanda and Egypt, which have successfully institutionalised diaspora engagement in their health sectors.
The programme will operationalise existing Memoranda of Understanding with several diaspora professional bodies, including the Medical Association of Nigerians Across Great Britain (MANSAG), the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), the Canadian Association of Nigerian Physicians and Dentists (CANPAD), and others.
Digital Portal Now Open
The NiDAH digital portal, developed with technical and financial support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Lafiya Programme, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and the World Health Organization (WHO), was officially opened to the world at the launch.
Turning Migration into Development
Speaking on behalf of NiDCOM Chairman and CEO, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Commission Secretary Engineer Yakubu Bassi described NiDAH-P as a strategic intervention aimed at converting migration into national development.
“At NiDCOM, we are set up to strategically manage migration in such a way that we turn brain drain into brain gain and brain circulation. NiDAH-P is designed to achieve exactly that in the health sector,” she said.
She disclosed that the programme had been under development for nearly a decade, involving successive ministers, permanent secretaries and numerous stakeholders before reaching implementation.
Registration Mandate for Patient Safety
Registrar and CEO of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Prof. Fatima Kyari, confirmed that Nigerian-trained doctors have earned global respect through their competence, resilience and professionalism.
“Any doctor, whether Nigerian or foreign, who provides care to a Nigerian patient—whether physically, virtually or through digital platforms—must be registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria,” she said, adding that the council has established global registration platforms to facilitate easier engagement.
Open-Heart Surgery Success Story
Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, Prof. Saad Ahmed, cited the successful development of the open-heart surgery programme at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, as evidence of what structured diaspora engagement can achieve.
“We started with a mission led entirely by Nigerians in the diaspora, and today we have established sustainable routine open-heart surgery in Federal Medical Centre, Abuja,” he said.
Ahmed expressed optimism that the initial rollout across 19 federal tertiary institutions would deliver measurable results within a year.
WHO Backing
Delivering remarks on behalf of the WHO Country Representative, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO official Mary Brentuo described the health workforce as the foundation of every healthcare system, noting that no country can achieve universal health coverage without a sufficient, skilled and equitably distributed health workforce.
“This programme provides an innovative mechanism to harness this tremendous reservoir of expertise and transform brain drain into brain circulation and brain gain,” she said.
The launch event also served as a precursor to the 2026 National Diaspora Week and Nigerian National Diaspora Day celebration scheduled for July 24 and 25.
