13/08/2026
Nigeria has only 20 practising occupational therapists, says Amu
…..Says shortage threatens rehabilitation services
…..Education Minister drives expansion of training from few universities to 15
…..NUC moves to accelerate approval of new programmes
By Our Reporter
Nigeria has barely 20 occupational therapists currently practising in the country despite its population of more than 200 million people, Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy, Audiology and Speech Therapy Education, Dr. Victoria Amu, has said.
Amu also disclosed that the country has about 500 speech therapists and barely 120 audiologists, describing the numbers as grossly inadequate to meet the growing demand for rehabilitation and related healthcare services.
She spoke on Wednesday during an interview on ARISE News on efforts by the Federal Government to address the shortage of professionals in Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Audiology.
According to her, although about 150 occupational therapists are registered with the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria, only about 20 are believed to be practising in the country, with many professionals having relocated abroad.
She said: “In speech therapy, you have about 500 of them in the country. In audiology, you have barely 120.
“And for a population of 200 million, you know those numbers are very, very low.”
Amu said the shortage was particularly troubling because of the number of Nigerians requiring rehabilitation following stroke, traumatic brain injuries, road crashes, fractures, mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder.
She said the situation prompted the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, to inaugurate a ministerial committee to advance the teaching of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Audiology in Nigerian universities.
According to her, the intervention is beginning to produce results, with the number of universities offering programmes in the specialised fields rising significantly.
She said only two universities offered Occupational Therapy and three offered Speech Therapy before the intervention, but about 15 universities are now at various stages of offering programmes across the three disciplines.
“With the intervention of the Minister of Education, we now have like 15 universities. We have like six universities doing Speech Therapy, we have five doing Occupational Therapy, we have three doing Audiology,” she said.
Amu expressed optimism that the expansion could substantially increase Nigeria’s pool of rehabilitation professionals within four to five years as students currently being admitted complete their training.
She said the committee was also taking its advocacy to secondary schools to encourage students to consider careers in the three professions.
“We’re talking to students in secondary school: ‘Pick Occupational Therapy, pick Speech Therapy, pick Audiology,’” she said.
Amu identified the University of Benin (UNIBEN) as one of the institutions that recently commenced Occupational Therapy training, noting that the development was significant because the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) already has Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy departments.
She said increasing the number of universities offering the programmes would ultimately allow more teaching, state and primary healthcare facilities to develop comprehensive rehabilitation services.
Amu also called for a rethink of Nigeria’s approach to rehabilitation, saying healthcare delivery had traditionally placed disproportionate emphasis on physiotherapy.
According to her, modern rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary approach involving Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Audiology, Prosthetics and Orthotics.
“In developed countries, rehabilitation is made up of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Audiology, Prosthetics and Orthotics,” she said.
She argued that patients recovering from stroke and other serious conditions often require more than physiotherapy to regain the skills necessary for independent living, communication and participation in everyday activities.
Amu also identified weaknesses in the country’s referral system, saying other rehabilitation professionals were often overlooked.
“The referral system is wrong in Nigeria because the doctors only refer to physiotherapy,” she said.
She expressed hope that producing more professionals would encourage hospitals to establish multidisciplinary rehabilitation departments rather than depending predominantly on physiotherapy services.
Amu said the committee was working with universities and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to facilitate the establishment and approval of more programmes.
“The Minister has already told NUC to accelerate resource verification for approvals for universities that want to offer Occupational Therapy, Speech and Audiology,” she said.
She expressed optimism that the reforms would not only address Nigeria’s manpower deficit but also increase awareness of rehabilitation professions and improve access to specialised care.
Amu said the long-term expectation was to see tertiary, secondary and eventually primary healthcare facilities incorporating the different rehabilitation professions into their services, giving patients access to more comprehensive care.
