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The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns about the future of healthcare in Africa, revealing that 42 percent of nurses across the continent are considering moving abroad for better opportunities.
The revelation came as WHO celebrated the courage and dedication of nurses on International Nurses Day 2025.
WHO noted that nurses make up nearly 70 percent of the global health workforce and often work in remote or difficult conditions.
Nurses play major roles in patient care, health education, and responding to emergencies.
WHO’s Acting Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, shared that while the global number of nurses has grown to almost 30 million, most of them are concentrated in countries that serve only half the world’s population.
This gap leaves developing regions like Africa with fewer nurses compared to richer countries.
In Africa, the number of nurses increased from 900,000 in 2018 to 1.7 million in 2023, which improved the nurse-to-population ratio.
However, this ratio still falls far below the global average.
Despite recent investments in training, Africa still faces a projected shortage of over six million health workers by 2030, and nurses make up two-thirds of that number.
Another issue raised is that many young nurses under 35 have no access to strong mentorship or career development.
Meanwhile, wealthier countries continue to recruit African nurses to meet their own shortages, attracting them with better pay and working conditions.
This creates a growing risk of talent loss that could harm health systems already struggling with limited staff and resources.
WHO also pointed to steps taken by African leaders in 2024 to improve the situation.
They endorsed a health workforce investment plan aimed at building stronger systems.
Countries are now working on collecting data, discussing national needs, and designing strategies to train and keep more nurses at home.
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