African health ministers have adopted a new plan to add 3 million health workers by 2035 as the continent faces the risk of a severe workforce crisis that could leave it short of more than 6 million health professionals.
The Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035 was adopted on Wednesday, August 26, during the 76th session of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The agenda commits African countries to plan, educate, employ and retain 3 million additional health workers over the next decade.
The move comes as countries across the continent, including Nigeria, struggle to retain trained medical professionals who increasingly seek better pay, career opportunities and working conditions abroad.
According to the WHO, Africa’s health workforce has expanded significantly over the past decade, reaching an estimated 5.72 million workers in 2024.
Despite the growth, the continent has only about 46 per cent of the health workforce it needs, leaving millions of people without adequate access to essential healthcare services.
The WHO warned that without decisive action, Africa could face a shortage of more than 6 million health workers by 2035.
Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said increasing the number of trained professionals would not, by itself, solve the problem.
“By adopting the Africa Health Workforce Agenda 2026–2035, our Member States have recognised that educating health workers is only the beginning,” he said.
He stressed the need to create the opportunities, support systems and working conditions that would enable health workers to remain and serve in the communities where they are most needed.
Nigeria’s situation illustrates the scale of Africa’s health workforce challenge.
The country has about 2.9 doctors per 10,000 people, equivalent to roughly one doctor for every 3,474 people. This is significantly below the WHO benchmark of 17 doctors per 10,000 people cited in the report.
With Nigeria’s population exceeding 230 million, meeting that benchmark would require nearly 400,000 doctors, compared with an estimated 66,000 currently available.
The gap has been compounded by the migration of Nigerian doctors and other health professionals.
In 2024, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate said Nigeria had lost between 15,000 and 16,000 doctors to brain drain over the preceding five years.
The continued departure of medical professionals has become a major concern for Nigeria, particularly as the country struggles to improve healthcare delivery while retaining its existing workforce.
Repeated disputes between resident doctors and the Federal Government have also highlighted concerns over salaries, allowances, promotions, training and working conditions.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened industrial action several times over unresolved welfare and training issues.
In August, the association suspended another planned nationwide strike following engagements with the Federal Government, while maintaining that it would monitor the implementation of agreements covering salaries, allowances, promotions and welfare.
The Federal Government has also attempted to encourage Nigerian medical professionals abroad to return home. In July, President Bola Tinubu called on doctors and other healthcare professionals in the diaspora to return and contribute their expertise to the country’s healthcare transformation.
The WHO estimates that closing Africa’s health workforce gap would require an additional $4 to $6 per person annually.
The investment, however, could deliver significant economic and social benefits.
According to the evidence cited by the WHO, every dollar invested in the health workforce could generate up to $10 in economic returns, while producing broader social benefits estimated at about 30 times the initial investment through healthier populations, increased productivity and stronger economies.
Africa’s health workforce challenge therefore extends beyond healthcare.
Without enough doctors, nurses, epidemiologists and other health professionals, countries face greater difficulty responding to disease outbreaks, providing basic healthcare and improving life expectancy.
The new 2035 agenda signals a shift from simply training more health workers to building systems capable of attracting, employing, retaining and supporting them.
For Nigeria and other African countries facing severe brain drain, that distinction could prove crucial. Training thousands of new professionals will have limited impact if the continent continues to lose them to countries offering better pay, working conditions and career opportunities.
