The Federal Government has inaugurated the Nigerians in Diaspora Advanced Health Programme (NiDAH-P) and its digital portal aimed at harnessing the expertise of Nigerian health professionals across the world and deploy their knowledge and skills to strengthen healthcare delivery as well as bridge the country’s health workforce gap.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate in conjunction with Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and other stakeholders in the Health Sector unveiled the programme in Abuja.

He said the programme is designed to create a structured platform through which Nigerian doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in the diaspora can support healthcare delivery, medical education, research and specialist services in Nigeria through physical and virtual engagements.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Daju Kachollom, the Minister said the initiative signals Nigeria’s commitment to moving beyond lamenting the migration of health professionals by creating sustainable mechanisms to reconnect them with the country’s healthcare system.

“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,” he said.

Pate added that for decades Nigeria has grappled with shortages of healthcare workers, while many of its highly skilled professionals continue to excel in leading health institutions around the world.

“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 noted.

He stressed that the NiDAH-P initiative was developed after years of policy work and extensive stakeholder consultations dating back to 2016.

He recalled that the programme draws lessons from countries like the Philippines, India, Rwanda and Egypt, which have successfully institutionalised diaspora engagement in their health sectors.

The Minister said the programme would also operationalise existing Memoranda of Understanding between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and 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), Nigerian Medical Association Germany, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America (NANNNA), the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK, and other diaspora organisations.

He said that the NiDAH digital portal was 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 Organisation (WHO).

“The NiDA portal has been developed and tested. It is ready, and today we open it to the world,” he said.

Pate, however, lauded the contributions of NiDCOM, under the leadership of Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the ministry’s Public-Private Partnership and Diaspora Unit, and development partners, for supporting the initiative from conception to implementation.

Speaking on behalf of Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Commission’s Secretary, Dr 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.

The NIDCOM boss said that the programme had been under development for nearly a decade, involving successive Ministers, Permanent Secretaries as well as other stakeholders before the official launch.

“For this programme to come to fruition today is history in the making. We salute everyone who worked tirelessly to ensure that it became a reality,” She said.

She used the opportunity to invite stakeholders to participate in the July 24 and 25, 2026 National Diaspora activities slated to hold in Abuja whose focus is on health sector development in Nigeria.

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Prof. Fatima Kyari, said Nigerian-trained doctors have earned global respect through their competence, resilience and professionalism, adding that many have consistently expressed a desire to contribute to healthcare development back home.

“They want to give back, and we welcome that commitment,” she said.

Kyari explained that the council had developed mechanisms to support diaspora engagement while ensuring patient safety.

“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.

She added that the council had established global registration platforms and partnerships with diaspora associations to facilitate easier engagement by Nigerian professionals overseas.

According to her, the council is also collaborating with the Federal Ministries of Health and Education under the Strengthening Collaborations and Advancing Clinical Excellence (SCALE) initiative to deepen partnerships with institutions such as the Royal Colleges in the United Kingdom.

Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, and Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, Prof. Saad Ahmed, said Nigerian tertiary hospitals have already benefited from collaborations with diaspora professionals.

He cited the successful development of the open-heart surgery programme at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, as evidence of what structured diaspora engagement could achieve.

Ahmed said the programme has now grown to the point where the hospital supports other institutions by sharing expertise and equipment.

“This is a simple example of what this programme can do for many more centres across Nigeria,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the initial rollout across 19 federal tertiary institutions would deliver measurable results within a year.

In her goodwill message on behalf of the World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr Pavel Ursu, Mary Brento, described the health workforce as the foundation of every healthcare system.

She said Nigeria, like many African countries, continues to face significant shortages of skilled health workers due largely to migration.

“No country can achieve universal health coverage or build resilient health systems without a sufficient, skilled, motivated and equitably distributed health workforce,” she said.

Brento noted that Nigerian health professionals continue to distinguish themselves globally in clinical practice, medical research, education and health leadership.

She reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in strengthening its health workforce and advancing universal health coverage through strategic partnerships such as NiDAH-P.