Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector have raised concerns about the varying prioritization of healthcare services across the country, as revealed by the 2024 budgets of the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). A detailed analysis of the budgets showed that states like Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Abia, and Bauchi are leading the way by allocating between 15.0% and 16.5% of their total budgets to healthcare initiatives. However, other states like Kwara, Ekiti, and Niger allocated less than two percent of their budgets to health, indicating potential challenges in healthcare accessibility and infrastructure development.
The discrepancies in healthcare funding have prompted calls for a more equitable distribution of resources to ensure all citizens have access to quality healthcare services. Maimuna Abdullahi, a Health Economist and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist at the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN), emphasized the importance of citizens in states with lower health budget allocations advocating for their rights to better healthcare. She suggested educating fellow citizens about the importance of healthcare funding, using social media and grassroots campaigns to spread awareness, and forming advocacy groups to demand increased healthcare funding.
Furthermore, the 2024 federal budget for healthcare services in Nigeria falls below the 2021 Abuja Declaration, with concerns about the sufficiency of the budget given the country’s high out-of-pocket health expenditure. Inadequate funding, over-centralization of resources, and lack of transparency in allocations have raised questions about efficient fund management and value for money, particularly in projects like the “Immunisation plus and malaria progress by accelerating coverage and transforming services (impact)–immunisation” project.
It is crucial for Nigerian citizens to collectively mobilize and advocate for their rights to better healthcare services, pressuring government officials to prioritize healthcare funding and ensure access to quality healthcare for all. The discrepancies in healthcare funding across states highlight the urgent need for a more equitable distribution of resources to address healthcare challenges and improve the well-being of all Nigerians.
