Concerned about the potential impact on Africa’s already overburdened healthcare staff, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning after 42 percent of the continent’s nurses announced their desire to leave the continent.
The statement was made on Saturday, in observance of International Nurses Day, by Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who is acting as the WHO regional director for Africa.
Although there were worrying inequalities, Ihekweazu noted that the worldwide nursing workforce has grown to 29.8 million from approximately 28 million in 2018.
Severe disparities in healthcare delivery are highlighted by the fact that over 80% of nurses only care for 49% of the global population.
On this, International Nurses Day, we pay tribute to the bravery, empathy, and dedication of nurses all throughout the globe, including in Africa.
Every day, nurses are necessary, and in times of crisis, they are indispensable, as they make up over 70% of the health workforce, according to Ihekweazu.
“Our Nurses. Our Future” will be the subject of the 2025 International Nurses Day, he shared. Nursing care strengthens health systems and economies, which is why it’s crucial to invest in nurses so that health systems may be more robust, fair, and successful.
Although there have been fruitful investments in nursing education and training in Africa, Ihekweazu said that the continent’s nursing workforce will have grown from 900,000 in 2018 to 1.7 million in 2023. This expansion proves that healthcare staffing on the continent has been improved.
Nevertheless, compared to high-income nations, our ratio of nurses to total population is still among the lowest worldwide, even with all these improvements. The persistent difficulties in resolving healthcare personnel shortages in Africa are borne out by this gap.
The number is more than ten times lower than in high-income countries, and it is still one of the lowest globally, he added.
Africa is expected to have a shortage of 6.1 million health workers by 2030, he said, and 66% of those workers will be nurses. This shortage will limit access to healthcare services and make progress towards universal health coverage more difficult.