Nigeria has just around 2,200 registered obstetricians and gynecologists, according to the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, despite the fact that seven million babies are born there annually.
The Second Vice President of SOGON, Prof. Christopher Aimakhu, stated in an exclusive interview with our correspondent that the country’s population of over 240 million people needs more than 7,000 obstetricians and gynecologists who are registered and actively practicing. He emphasized that the current number of specialists is woefully insufficient, according to Sunday PUNCH.
The maternal health expert added that, in spite of the low number, the majority of obstetricians and gynecologists work in cities, depriving the nation’s rural areas—which already face high rates of maternal mortality—of the highly qualified medical professionals they require.
Aimakhu pointed out that in addition to low pay and insufficient facilities and equipment, insecurity—which includes the regular abduction of physicians and other citizens—has also played a role in the migration of medical professionals from rural to urban areas.
As a result, 500–800 maternal fatalities per 100,000 live births, or 43% of the nation’s maternal mortality rates, occur in rural areas.
Nigeria already has the third-highest maternal mortality rate in the world, accounting for 34% of all maternal fatalities worldwide.
Nigeria now has roughly 40,000 doctors, significantly fewer than the estimated 300,000 needed to appropriately service a population of over 220 million, as a result of the “Japa” wave.
Nigerian doctors are migrating in large numbers due to a number of reasons, including inadequate pay, decaying hospital infrastructure and equipment, and an unstable environment.
According to earlier reports, Nigerian physicians are being hired by nations like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Dubai due to their excellent professional competence and training, according to Prof. Bala Audu, president of the Nigerian Medical Association.
“Nigerian physicians are highly respected and well-trained. Because of their caliber, nations like the US, UK, Dubai, and many more aggressively seek out Nigerian physicians, he stated.
According to Audu, the country now has 30,000 doctors and a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:8,000 as a result of widespread emigration and recruiting.
He stated that the doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:8000 when the projected 240 million people are divided by the 30,000 practicing physicians.
About 9,000 gynecologists worked in Nigeria, according to a 2023 report. Nonetheless, recent data from the Nigerian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics shows a 75.6% drop, which means that almost three-quarters of the nation’s gynecology workforce has left.
Given that the United Nations estimates that there are roughly seven million births per year and that the country’s fertility rate is consistently high (4.8 children per woman, according to the 2023–2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey), the lack of specialists poses major issues for maternal health in the nation.
Aimakhu said that in a nation that currently contributes 34% of all maternal fatalities worldwide, the declining number of gynecologists could exacerbate maternal outcomes. Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is projected by the World Bank to be 993 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2023.
An earlier study also revealed that the nation’s midwifery system, which has historically been the first line of treatment for mothers, is equally overburdened with the need for qualified birth medical professionals as doctors, particularly in rural and underprivileged areas.
With a population of over 217 million, Nigeria had less than 200,000 midwives as of 2023.
Nigeria would require around 700,000 extra nurses and midwives to achieve even the most basic international criteria, which is 44.5 midwives per 10,000 people, according to the WHO.
Practically speaking, this translates to long lines at prenatal clinics, neglected labor wards, overworked staff, and innumerable women who must rely on untrained staff or travel great distances—often in excruciating pain or severe condition—just to locate a medical expert who can assist.
Because of the lack, some of these pregnant ladies were left without somebody to step in when a few minutes may have meant the difference between life and death.
Furthermore, according to Aimakhu, there are likely currently between 2,000 and 3,000 gynecologists in the nation.
A few qualified gynecologists were not included in the census, the professor said, and many of them had fled the country.
“So that is small for a nation of more than 200 million people,” he said. Additionally, it’s likely that some of them have left Nigeria. They have departed, and some recently qualified individuals may not have an association registration. I will thus estimate that there are currently 2,200 obstetricians and gynecologists in Nigeria. A nation with our size requires more than 7,000 obstetricians and gynecologists dispersed throughout the nation. Most people practice in cities.
The top maternal health specialist went on to say that gynecologists were concentrated in specific regions, identifying Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Enugu as the four main locations with the highest concentrations of gynecologists.
“You cannot talk about a shortage of gynecologists in Lagos,” the professor said. In Lagos, there are several. Lagos and Abuja are home to the majority of our gynecologists.
Ten or more gyns are found throughout a state like Kebbi State. There are likely just ten to fifteen of them in a place like Niger State, which is too little for such a state.
He pointed out that because of the teaching hospital and a few other private institutions, Enugu has a higher number of gynecologists than other Eastern states.
There were not many gynecologists in states like Niger, Kogi, Kebbi, and Jigawa, according to Aimakhu, who also said that some of these places were unsafe for medical professionals.
“In an area like Zamfara, I know five gynecologists who have fled from Zamfara,” he stated. Indeed, a year ago, a gynecologist was abducted. He spent almost four weeks in captivity. Therefore, certain locations are unsafe for them.
Because Edo State has teaching hospitals, regional hospitals, central hospitals, and other healthcare facilities that employ gynecologists, the professor continued, the university also has a good number of gynecologists.
Nigeria may not be able to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target of 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030 due to the country’s woefully low number of gynecologists and high maternal mortality ratio.
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