Health sector professionals have raised serious alarms over the Federal Government's proposed allocation of N2.48 trillion to the health sector in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, labelling it insufficient and a sign of continued low prioritisation of healthcare.
Budget Falls Far Below International Commitments
Presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in December 2025, the total budget proposal stands at N58.18 trillion. The N2.48 trillion earmarked for health constitutes a mere 4.28 per cent of this total. This figure is drastically below the 15 per cent benchmark pledged by African leaders, including Nigeria, under the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), highlighted this shortfall. He stressed that the real issue extends beyond the initial allocation to include the timely release and effective use of the funds. Drawing from historical patterns, Onyekpere noted that poor cash releases have consistently crippled sector performance, rendering even modest budgets ineffective.
Experts Propose Solutions for Sustainable Health Financing
Onyekpere argued that health financing should not depend solely on government budgets. He pointed to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act of 2022 as a potential game-changer. The Act mandates compulsory health insurance, which, if fully implemented, could generate up to N7 trillion annually in premiums. This massive injection of funds would significantly complement public financing and accelerate progress toward universal health coverage. He urged the NHIA and state agencies to enforce this compulsory regime without delay.
Echoing these concerns, Prof. Emmanuel Alhassan, a Professor of Organisational Psychology at Nasarawa State University, described the allocation as "grossly inadequate" to tackle the sector's myriad challenges. He cited the 2025 budget implementation as a cautionary tale, where releases were extremely poor. "For instance, out of over N300 billion earmarked for immunisation, only about N68 billion was released," Alhassan revealed.
Binding US Agreement Adds Pressure for Increase
Prof. Alhassan emphasised a new layer of obligation for the government. Nigeria recently signed a $2.1 billion bilateral agreement with the United States to strengthen its health system and support critical programmes for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and polio. A key condition of this pact is that Nigeria allocates at least six per cent of its national budget to health annually for the next five years.
Unlike the Abuja Declaration, this agreement is backed by a binding memorandum of understanding. "Failure to meet the six per cent commitment could jeopardise the $2.1 billion funding from the United States," Alhassan warned. He stated that, at a minimum, the government must immediately raise the health allocation to six per cent and ensure priority funding for immunisation, which he described as a critical life-saving tool for preventing disease outbreaks.
The consensus among experts is clear: the proposed 2026 health budget is a setback. Meeting the legally binding six per cent threshold from the US agreement is now the immediate baseline demand, alongside fixing systemic issues of fund release and leveraging the NHIA Act for sustainable financing.
