‘Fix Nigeria’s Health Budgeting, Policy Crises, CAPPA Urges FG, others

By, Chinelo Kodilichukwu Enugu 

As Nigeria joins the global community to mark World Health Day 2026, today Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged governments at all levels to move beyond rhetoric and urgently address the chronic underfunding and policy gaps undermining the country’s health sector and worsening its disease burden.

In a statement to mark the day, CAPPA decried Nigeria’s persistent failure to adequately fund the health sector over the past decade. Citing data from the Budget Office of the Federation.

The organisation noted that allocations have consistently fallen short of the 15 per cent benchmark set under the Abuja Declaration, with even approved funds often not fully released.

The group pointed to recent examples. In January, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reportedly lamented its inability to implement its 2025 capital budget after only N36 million was released out of the N218 billion allocated. 

Similarly, in 2024, just N26.552 billion was released from the N233.656 billion earmarked for capital projects.

“This longstanding gap between budget promises and actual releases has weakened the health system and is short-changing Nigerians,” said CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi. 

“It shows up in limited access to essential medicines, overstretched facilities, a severe shortage of health workers worsened by the ‘Japa’ trend, high out-of-pocket costs, and a growing burden of non-communicable diseases driven by unhealthy food environments.”