The Federal Government has unveiled a comprehensive reform agenda for Nigeria’s nursing and midwifery sector, announcing a major increase in enrolment capacity from 28,000 to 115,000 students as part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s health workforce.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, made this known in Abuja at the National Nursing Summit and official launch of the Nigeria Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (NSDNM) 2025–2030 a national framework designed to transform education, leadership, and service delivery in the profession.
Describing the initiative as a “blueprint for transformation,” Prof. Pate said the plan reflected the Tinubu administration’s commitment to repositioning the nursing and midwifery professions for excellence, equity, and global relevance.
“Nurses are at the core of the resilience of Nigeria’s health system,” he said. “This strategy is not just another policy document it is a practical guide for reform, innovation, and investment to build a skilled, motivated, and equitably distributed workforce capable of delivering quality care to all Nigerians.”
The Minister noted that under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has expanded workforce capacity and improved training opportunities nationwide.
“The enrolment quota for nursing and midwifery institutions, which stood at 28,000 in May 2023, has now been scaled up to 115,000 for the 2025 academic year,” he announced. “This expansion will enable Nigeria to train more nurses, midwives, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and medical students to meet both national and global health needs.”
Prof. Pate disclosed that the Federal Government has also approved recruitment waivers for 20,000 new health workers, 60 percent of whom will be nurses and midwives, while over 69,000 frontline health workers have been retrained across the 36 states and the FCT under the ongoing Sector-Wide Approach and Recruitment Drive.
He commended the World Health Organization (WHO) for its technical and financial support in developing the NSDNM, noting that Nigeria’s alignment with the WHO Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021–2027) demonstrated its commitment to international standards and evidence-based practice.
Highlighting Nigeria’s growing leadership role, Prof. Pate said the country is the first in West Africa to implement the Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) model, in partnership with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) a global initiative that promotes evidence-based nursing and improves maternal and neonatal outcomes.
“We are proud to be pioneers of this model in the region,” he said. “It reflects our determination to elevate the nursing and midwifery professions through knowledge, technology, and accountability.”
In her remarks, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Daju Kachollom, inaugurated the Technical Working Group (TWG) for NSDNM implementation, described the step as a transition “from planning to action.” She charged members to ensure measurable results through innovation, data-driven planning, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
Also speaking, Professor Saleh Ngaski Garba, Head of Nursing Science at Bayero University, Kano, emphasized that nurses and midwives make up nearly 60 percent of Nigeria’s health workforce, calling for sustained investment to bridge workforce gaps and retain talent.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the WHO Country Representative, Mary Brentrow commended Nigeria’s leadership for its bold steps in addressing the nursing shortage, describing the initiative as “a strategic investment in health system resilience, gender equity, and national development.”
With the launch of the NSDNM 2025–2030, Nigeria is charting a new course in health workforce planning, anchoring its goal of universal health coverage on a stronger, empowered, and professionally supported cadre of nurses and midwives.
