Nigerian nurses have appealed to government at all levels to invest more in nursing education, infrastructure, welfare and a supportive workplace to ensure a healthier workforce and a stronger economy.
The demand was made on Monday during the 2025 International Nurses Week celebration and the unveiling of the seventh edition of the State House Nurses Magazine, organised by the Nursing Department of the State House Medical Centre in Abuja.
The registrar and chief executive officer of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Alhassan Ndagi, said nurses must be at the centre of health reforms.
“Supporting nurses’ wellbeing is a sure path to improved patient safety, lower rate of medical error, increased productivity and occupational retention,” he stated.
Ndagi explained that this year’s theme, “Our Nurses, Our Future: Caring for Nurses, Strengthens Economies,” shifts focus to the health and well-being of nurses, underscoring their critical role in economic transformation.
“This theme provides an opportunity to bring actionable solutions to support nurses in their daily work and improve their long-term health,” he added.
In her remarks, the head of Nursing at the State House Medical Centre, Taiwo Thompson-Olatigbe, said nurses remain the “backbone and fulcrum of healthcare delivery,” stressing that caring for nurses should be treated as an economic strategy, not charity.
She urged management to prioritise training and manpower development for nurses in the centre.
The chairman of the occasion and businessman, Arthur Eze, represented by Brig. Gen. I.U Babangida (rtd), warned against losing experienced professionals to other countries.
“We must ensure nurses are accorded their due respect and welfare so we do not lose such an experienced and resilient workforce to other nations,” he said.
A monarch, the Etsu Kwali, Luka Ayedoo Nizassan III, linked nurses’ welfare directly to national productivity.
“Only a healthy and emotionally stable nurse would attend to the physical and emotional needs of a patient, who would in turn be productive and grow the economy,” he noted.
