The Federal Government has allocated N2.48 trillion to the health sector in the proposed 2026 budget, despite the numerous challenges confronting the sector.
These include acute manpower shortages, the “japa syndrome,” poor welfare for health workers, obsolete equipment, and recurring industrial unrest, compounded by cuts in global health funding.
The N2.48 trillion allocation, which represents about six per cent of the total budget, falls far short of the 15 per cent commitment outlined in the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
Experts have lamented that Nigeria continues to miss the African Union’s Abuja Declaration target of allocating at least 15 per cent of its national budget to health, 24 years after the commitment was made.
The declaration, adopted by African leaders in 2001, was aimed at strengthening health systems, improving access to care, and reducing preventable deaths across the continent.
However, experts say consistent allocation for health below the agreed benchmark shows that successive governments since 2001 have not prioritised Nigerians’ health, nor the sector.
The result, they said, had left the country’s fragile health system underfunded and overstretched, worsened brain drain among medical workers, and limited investments in critical infrastructure in the face of shrinking donor funds.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that experts fear that the country’s health sector may be severely impacted due to the funding cuts after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pause the country’s foreign aid to Nigeria and others in 2025.
Although there’s been domestic mobilisation for funds in Nigeria after the cut in the global fund for healthcare, the gap is still evident.
The experts urged the Federal Government to prioritise health funding as a matter of national development and security.
On December 19, 2025, President Bola Tinubu presented a budget proposal of N58.47 trillion for 2026 to the National Assembly. It was titled, “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”.
A breakdown of the budget showed that the health sector got N2.48 trillion, equivalent to six per cent of the proposed total budget.
“In healthcare, I am pleased to highlight that investment in healthcare is 6 per cent of the total budget size, net of liabilities.
“We also appreciate the support of international partners. Recent high‑level engagements with the Government of the United States have opened the door to over 500 million United States dollars for health interventions across Nigeria,” Tinubu said while presenting the budget.
While countries like Rwanda and South Africa have met the commitment by allocating at least 15 per cent of their total budgets to health, Nigeria is yet to do so and is still far from meeting the target, as the country’s health sector challenges keep increasing.
A review of the budgetary allocation to the health sector in the last 24 years revealed that Nigeria has never met the 15 per cent target agreed upon in the Abuja Declaration. Nigeria is still struggling with less than 10 per cent since the declaration.
A report by the non-profits of PACFaH@Scale in 2021 analyzed the country’s Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies’ budgets between 2001 and 2021, and its findings showed that Nigeria didn’t meet the target.
According to the report, the average budget allocation to the sector was about 4.7 per cent across two decades
Despite alternative funding from the service-wide vote (contingency budget) and Nigeria’s Basic Health Care Provision Fund, the report indicated that budgetary allocation to the health sector never surpassed seven per cent.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s allocation to health for the 2021 fiscal year was 4.5 per cent.
As the 2026 allocation for the health sector falls short of expectations, so do allocations before it.
In 2025, the health sector got N2.48 trillion, N1.33tn in 2024, N1.17 in 2023, N826.9bn in 2022, and N547bn in 2021, which all failed to meet the commitment made by African leaders under the Abuja Declaration.
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise, the Nigerian Medical Association, the National Association of Resident Doctors, and pharmacists, said that with such poor funding, Nigeria continues to weaken itself economically and socially.
The Lagos NMA Chairman, Dr. Babajide Saheed, said the 2026 allocation for health showed that the FG does not prioritise the health sector.
“The government does not take the issue of healthcare seriously. Despite some state governments making efforts to improve the sector, the lack of interest and priority at the federal level clearly shows a leadership gap and a lack of focus. Leadership in any sector depends on vision, capacity, and genuine interest in that sector. Unfortunately, this is not evident in the Ministry of Health.
“First, the President appears to lack sufficient interest in the health sector. Second, the Minister of Health also shows a clear lack of commitment to improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, there is little evidence of a strong drive to raise health sector funding to even 10 or 12 per cent of the national budget, not to mention meeting the 15 per cent benchmark.
He said pegging the allocation at about six per cent shows a lack of seriousness and priority.
“Any society that fails to take care of its health sector weakens itself economically and socially. Poor health directly affects productivity, gross domestic product, and overall standards of living. When citizens are unhealthy, they cannot contribute meaningfully to national development.
“Poor budgetary allocation to health also sends a strong message that the sector is not valued. It suggests indifference to the welfare of the population and a preference for other interests over essential services,” he said.
He noted that before talking about broader policies, the government must prioritise basic needs such as health, education, and security.
“Without good health, security cannot be sustained, because a weak and unhealthy population cannot protect or develop itself. Therefore, the government must reassess its priorities and place healthcare at the centre of national planning.
“In addition, the Ministry of Health needs renewed leadership, fresh ideas, and a stronger commitment to genuinely reform and improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” Saheed said.
The NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, who faulted the allocation, said the government must explain the below-par allocation.
“So the 2026 budget being far below the 15 per cent benchmark is something policymakers must explain and defend.
“For us, we will always tell policymakers that you can build all the skyscrapers you want, but without adequate budgeting and improved welfare of the healthcare workforce, you are simply doing what is not sustainable,” he said.
The NARD president added, “A model where a hospital is seen purely as a revenue-generating arm of government does not work anywhere in the world. You cannot tag hospitals as revenue generators, take whatever they raise into government revenue, and then expect those hospitals to function properly without adequate budgeting. Hospitals across the country cannot even pay basic bills.
“It is appalling that hospitals cannot even ensure stable electricity, even in emergencies; we still have to wait for generators before saving lives.”
On his part, the NMA President, Prof Bala Audu, called for proper structuring of the budget.
“Budgeting processes in Nigeria are not bottom–top in approach. We can only keep our fingers crossed that the 2026 budget will improve. But more important than just improvement is implementation.
“We must first ensure that the budget is correctly structured for critical components and their relevance in terms of delivering care to Nigerians.
“The second aspect is capital investment. Capital components need to concentrate on the acquisition of the latest automated equipment through partnership agreements.
Also, a former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Olumide Akintayo, said that though the budget fell short of the commitment specified in the 2001 Abuja Declaration, it was important to question how budgets before it had been utilised.
“The truth is, it is a bit difficult to meet the 15 per cent target, especially when you consider the other challenges Nigeria is facing now—security challenges, the need to invest more in agriculture, infrastructure, and other competing priorities.
“That said, the key question we should be asking is: what has been done with the money that was given in the last two years? With the earlier releases in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, there are no legacy projects to point to.
“So, for me, it is not really about how much was allocated for 2026 alone, but what was done with the previous disbursements. What has been achieved? What has been accounted for?”
