International Emigration and Nigeria's Public Health: A Case Study of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (2015–2023)

This study examines international emigration's impact on Nigeria's public health sector, with a case study of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) from 2015 to 2023. The objectives are to investigate how low job satisfaction enhances emigration among doctors and nurses, how inadequate healthcare infrastructure contributes to professionals' departure decisions, and how emigration affects workload and burnout rates among remaining staff at UNTH. Anchored in the Push-Pull Theory of Migration, which explains movement through push factors (e.g., poor pay, substandard facilities) and pull factors (e.g., superior opportunities abroad), the research adopts a case study design. Primary data were gathered via qualitative surveys from 300 healthcare professionals at UNTH, analyzed to address three research questions. Findings confirm that low job satisfaction evidenced by 91% of respondents citing inadequate salaries and 93% considering departure significantly drives emigration. Inadequate infrastructure, rated insufficient by 58% and influencing 82.3% of emigration decisions, exacerbates this trend through issues like unreliable power and obsolete equipment. Emigration has intensified workloads for 80% of remaining staff and heightened burnout, with patient-to-doctor ratios worsening far below WHO standards, creating a vicious attrition cycle that undermines patient care and training. The study recommends reforming salary structures with performance incentives and professional development programs to counter low job satisfaction; increasing health budgets to 10% of GDP for infrastructure upgrades via public-private partnerships to address deficiencies; and enforcing workload caps, hiring incentives, and mental health support to alleviate burnout and overload. These measures, integrated into the 2024 National Health Workforce Migration Policy, aim to retain talent and bolster Nigeria's public health resilience