LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Nigeria’s health sector is set to receive N2.1 trillion in the proposed 2026 federal budget, marking a nominal increase from previous years but still falls well short of continental commitments on healthcare funding.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the N58.18 trillion appropriation bill to the National Assembly in December, outlining government spending priorities across key sectors. Health and Social Welfare secured N2.1 trillion in the proposal, placing it behind Works, Defence and Education in overall allocations.
Under the spending plan, health ranked above Agriculture and Food Security, Police Affairs, Regional Development, Power and the Independent National Electoral Commission. Despite this positioning, the sector’s allocation represents only a small fraction of total federal expenditure.
Nigeria remains far from meeting the 2001 Abuja Declaration, in which African Union member states pledged to allocate at least 15 percent of their national budgets to health. Current estimates put Nigeria’s 2026 health spending at roughly 4.2 to 4.3 percent of total expenditure, continuing a long-standing pattern of underinvestment.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has sharply criticised the allocation, describing it as inadequate for a country of Nigeria’s size and health needs. According to the association, the proposed funding translates to approximately N10,400 per citizen annually, or about N870 per person per month.
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Secretary-General of the NMA, Dr Benjamin Egbo, said the figure was “simply unacceptable and grossly inadequate,” stressing that it remains far below the minimum standard agreed by African leaders under the Abuja Declaration.
In response to growing concerns, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, has acknowledged efforts to gradually raise the sector’s share of the national budget.
Speaking at recent health-focused forums, Pate said the government anticipates the 2026 allocation could approach six percent of total spending, which would represent the highest proportion Nigeria has recorded so far. He added that the administration’s health strategy prioritises strengthening primary healthcare, upgrading hospitals, expanding cancer services and improving access for vulnerable populations.
Health financing experts, however, warn that years of limited funding have weakened the system’s ability to cope with rising demand. Ongoing challenges include shortages of essential medicines, outdated medical equipment, fragile infrastructure and heavy out-of-pocket costs borne by patients.
The situation has been further complicated by recent reductions in foreign aid, which previously supported HIV programmes, immunization campaigns and community health services. In response, the federal government increased domestic health funding in 2025 to cushion the impact of the funding gap.
While successive budgets have shown gradual increases in naira terms, health spending continues to occupy a relatively small share of Nigeria’s overall budget, reinforcing concerns that the sector remains overshadowed by defence, infrastructure and education in national priorities.
