A survey by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research has found that despite the depletion of the nation’s healthcare workforce as a result of the japa phenomenon, only 36 formal health sector vacancies were advertised in Nigerian newspapers in the first quarter of 2026.
The findings, which analysed 778 vacancies published in The PUNCH, The Guardian and The Nation newspapers between January and March, identified critical employment gaps in the health, agriculture, IT/Communication, transport/logistics, and manufacturing/construction sectors.
According to the NISER report, the health sector accounted for just 36 vacancies, representing 4.63 per cent of all advertised jobs during the period.
Under its sector-by-sector analysis, the institute stated, “Japa syndrome depletes doctors and nurses faster than formal recruitment replaces them. Only 36 vacancies for a nation of 220 million people.”
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, in his recent address at the 2026 United Kingdom Global Health Summit, decried the mass exodus of Nigerian health workers abroad, saying it had intensified manpower shortages and placed enormous pressure on the country’s already overstretched health system.
