The United Kingdom has placed Nigeria and 53 other countries on a red list indicating that health and social care employers should not actively target them for recruitment. This announcement appears in the revised code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England. Employers, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and contracting bodies are advised to check the red‑country list for updates before launching any recruitment drive.
The code defines “active international recruitment” as the process by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and sub‑contractors target individuals to market UK employment opportunities, with the intention of filling roles in the UK health or social care sector. This includes both physical and virtual targeting, regardless of whether the actions result in substantive employment.
The code of practice applies to the appointment of all international health and social care personnel in the UK, covering permanent, temporary, and locum staff in clinical and non‑clinical settings. It encompasses allied health professionals, care workers, dentists, doctors, healthcare scientists, medical staff, midwives, nursing staff, residential and domiciliary care workers, social workers, and support staff.
In 2021, the UK suspended recruitment of healthcare workers from Nigeria and 46 other countries, citing concerns that the growing migration of health and social care workers from low‑ and lower‑middle‑income nations threatens the achievement of the UK’s health and social care goals. On 8 March 2023, the WHO listed Nigeria and 54 other countries as facing the most pressing health‑workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.
The red and amber country lists do not prevent individual health and social care personnel residing in listed countries from applying directly to UK employers. However, they prohibit third parties—such as recruitment organisations, agencies, or collaborations—from targeting these individuals.
Statistics from the UK General Medical Council show that 11,055 Nigerian‑trained doctors are currently practising in the UK, making Nigeria the third‑largest source of foreign doctors after India and Pakistan. Despite this, the revised code states that health and social care organisations in England will not actively recruit from countries identified by the WHO as having the most acute workforce challenges unless a government‑to‑government agreement supports managed recruitment activities.
The countries placed on the red list of “no active recruitment,” in alphabetical order, are: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea‑Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor‑Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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