President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian doctors and other healthcare professionals living abroad to return home and contribute their expertise to the ongoing transformation of the country’s health sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Receiving a delegation of Nigerian Diaspora Medical Associations Worldwide, led by Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Chief Executive Abike Dabiri Erewa, at the State House as part of the 2026 National Diaspora Day celebration, Tinubu said Nigeria needs the knowledge and experience of its skilled professionals abroad to build a resilient healthcare system for citizens. He recalled his own experience working abroad before returning to Nigeria to contribute to nation building, and said the Renewed Hope Agenda places healthcare at the center of national development through investments in medical education, digital health infrastructure and reforms aimed at reversing the trend of skilled professionals leaving the country.

The president commended the doctors for their recent medical outreach programmers across the North East, North West, South East, South West and other regions, saying their voluntary work bringing specialist care and life saving interventions to thousands of Nigerians reflects the compassion for which Nigerians are known worldwide. He urged them to encourage more diaspora professionals to reconnect with home through partnerships, investment and knowledge exchange.

Dabiri Erewa said the visiting professionals, trained in Nigeria and successful abroad, want to give back and are being supported by the diaspora commission to play their part in the Renewed Hope Agenda. Minister of State for Health Adekunle Salako said the level of commitment shown by diaspora professionals validates the reach of the health agenda beyond Nigeria’s borders, and announced that the ministry will make the diaspora health collaboration a yearly event.