WESolutions
When someone searches for nurses in the UK, they are usually looking for professionals who provide essential care in hospitals, clinics, and community settings. The need for UK nurses is rising rapidly. Demand has increased due to an ageing population, more complex health needs, and ongoing challenges in retaining staff.
This demand has a real human impact, not just in the UK but also in the countries where many of these nurses are trained. In this blog, we explore how this growing need affects developing nations, looking at both the benefits and the serious concerns it raises around global healthcare equity.
The UK’s Growing Demand for Nurses
At present, UK nurse demand is extremely high. The NHS continues to face thousands of vacancies across the country, particularly in general nursing, mental health services, and specialist areas.
To fill these gaps, many NHS trusts and recruitment agencies are increasingly turning to international hiring. In 2023, almost half of the new nurses registering with the Nursing and Midwifery Council were trained outside the UK (en.wikipedia.org).
This reliance on overseas nurses is no longer a short-term measure. It has become a core part of the UK’s strategy to keep healthcare services running.
While international recruitment helps ease immediate staffing pressures, it also raises questions. Where do these nurses come from, and what effect does their migration have on the healthcare systems of their home countries?
Source Countries for International Nurses
The majority of internationally educated nurses in the UK come from a handful of countries. These include India, the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria, Nepal, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Many of these countries have been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as vulnerable due to shortages in their own health workforces (theconversation.com, opendemocracy.net).
India and the Philippines are two of the largest contributors. India alone now has almost 48,395 India-trained nurses working in the UK (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). In the Philippines, the training of nurses for overseas employment has been part of its economic strategy for decades (en.wikipedia.org).
Smaller nations like Ghana and Nepal, which already have fragile healthcare systems, are also significant sources of nurses. Since 2017, more than 50,000 nurses registering to work in the UK were trained in countries with severe healthcare shortages (opendemocracy.net).
Positive Outcomes for Developing Countries
Stronger household and community economies
For many families, overseas migration is a financial lifeline. Nurses who move to the UK are often able to send home regular remittances. In countries such as the Philippines, these contributions support not only households but also wider local economies, helping fund children’s education, housing, and even small businesses.
Skills development and knowledge transfer
Working in the NHS exposes nurses to advanced medical technologies, specialist training, and high standards of clinical practice. When some of these professionals return home, they bring with them improved knowledge and skills that can enhance local healthcare provision. Even those who remain abroad can share expertise through virtual mentoring, training partnerships, or collaborative research projects.
International cooperation and formal agreements
Several countries now have bilateral agreements with the UK that allow recruitment to be managed in a way that also benefits the source nation. These frameworks may include support for training nurses locally, exchange programmes, or giving recognition to the students with overseas qualifications. Done properly, these arrangements can help create a “circular flow” of talent where both the UK and the home country gain (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).
Personal and professional empowerment
For individual nurses, migration often means the chance to progress careers in ways that may not be possible at home. Better pay and conditions not only improve their personal quality of life but also give them the confidence and resources to act as role models within their families and communities.
Taken together, these outcomes show that international migration is not simply about workforce loss. When managed ethically and in partnership with source countries, it can deliver financial, professional, and social benefits that extend well beyond the individual nurse.
Negative Impacts on Healthcare Systems in Developing Nations
Despite these benefits, the negative consequences of nurse migration are often severe and long-lasting.
When a developing country loses trained healthcare professionals, it creates gaps in essential services. In rural areas, maternity clinics may be left without qualified staff, and communities can struggle to access basic care.
The Financial Times recently reported that in some African countries, up to 42 per cent of healthcare workers are considering leaving, with many hoping to work in the UK or other high-income nations. The economic impact is significant: every doctor or nurse who leaves represents a substantial loss of training investment, often valued at more than $1.8 million (ft.com).
For example, in Cameroon, nurses can earn as little as $100 per month, forcing many to seek better opportunities abroad. This results in a vicious cycle: as more nurses leave, local conditions worsen, driving even more professionals to emigrate (apnews.com).
The knock-on effects are devastating. Vaccination programmes stall, maternal mortality rises, and preventable diseases go untreated. The departure of thousands of skilled workers ultimately undermines the resilience of entire healthcare systems. OpenDemocracy highlighted that 38,000 new nurses in the UK over a five-year period were trained in countries that already had extreme shortages. This means that while the NHS gains, vulnerable nations are left with fewer resources to meet their own healthcare needs (opendemocracy.net).
Concerns and Global Responsibility
The ethical considerations around this issue are complex and deeply troubling.
Recruiting nurses from countries that cannot afford to lose them can be seen as exploitative. Some critics have even called it a “new form of colonialism” (theguardian.com).
The contradiction is even starker when we consider that the UK has significantly reduced overseas health aid in recent years. Between 2020 and 2023, aid to countries on the WHO’s “red list” fell by almost 63 per cent, while investment in supporting overseas healthcare workforces dropped by 83 per cent. During the same period, the number of nurses migrating to the UK from these countries increased (theguardian.com).
This creates a sense of imbalance: the UK benefits from international recruitment, while vulnerable nations bear the costs.
The WHO has issued clear guidance stating that recruitment should not harm the healthcare systems of source countries. The UK can help by supporting training initiatives abroad, building global partnerships, and ensuring recruitment practices are ethical and sustainable.
At the same time, the UK must also focus on improving retention and working conditions for its own nurses. Long-term solutions lie not in continually looking overseas, but in making the profession attractive to homegrown talent.
Conclusion
The UK nurse demand reflects an urgent and growing need to maintain safe, effective healthcare across the country.
International recruitment plays an important role in meeting this demand, but it comes at a cost to developing nations. While there are benefits, such as remittances and skill-sharing, they are often outweighed by the harm caused to vulnerable healthcare systems when too many professionals leave.
The way forward requires balance. The UK must invest in its own workforce while supporting ethical recruitment practices abroad. Through fair policies, mutual partnerships, and global responsibility, it is possible to address shortages at home without destabilising healthcare systems elsewhere.
