The Federal Government has secured more than $1 billion in concessional financing and grants to power sweeping reforms in Nigeria’s healthcare system, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, announced on Thursday.
Speaking at the maiden BusinessDay Health Conference in Abuja, Dr. Salako said the funds sourced from partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will be invested in strengthening governance, upgrading infrastructure, expanding access, and boosting private sector participation.
“Through these strengthened partnerships, we have secured over $1 billion in concessional financing and grants to support the ongoing transformation of our health system,” Salako told stakeholders. “Government alone cannot heal Nigeria’s health system. We need the private sector, civil society, academia, and subnational governments to co-create bold, inclusive, and scalable solutions.”
(BusinessDay, Premium Times)
From Policy to Action: A Shift in Health Sector Thinking
Under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, health is now being treated “not as a cost centre but as a vital investment for national prosperity, productivity, and security,” Salako said.
The reforms, he stressed, are “foundational shifts aimed at producing health, not just delivering healthcare.”
At the core of these changes is the Nigerian Health Sector Renewal Initiative (NHSRI) a blueprint for governance reform, improved quality standards, stronger health security, and a more integrated healthcare value chain.
Key Reform Pillars
- Workforce Expansion – Medical school intake has risen 62% since 2023; 15,000 new health workers have been recruited; policies are in place to attract diaspora professionals and retain domestic talent. A national health workforce registry is also being created.
- Energy Reliability – Through the Energy for Health Initiative, solar hybrid systems and clean energy solutions have eliminated outages in facilities like University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre Keffi. A follow-up programme Power in the Health Sector Initiative will host a landmark policy dialogue on Sept. 9–10, 2025 to set national energy sustainability standards for health institutions.
- Private Sector Incentives – The Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) has given targeted incentives to 87 local pharmaceutical manufacturers, cutting production costs by 12%.
- Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – Funds from the Basic Health Care Provision Fund are being channelled into primary health centres, with a focus on vulnerable populations and community-based insurance schemes.
- Digital Transformation – The National Digital Health Initiative (NDHI) aims to create a secure, interoperable, job-generating digital health ecosystem while safeguarding patient data.
Why This Matters
Nigeria’s healthcare system has long suffered from chronic underfunding, brain drain, and weak infrastructure. Analysts note that this $1 billion injection though significant must be matched with effective implementation, transparent monitoring, and sustained political will to produce lasting change.
Dr. Amina Okon, a health policy analyst, told The Guardian Nigeria:
“The real challenge is not attracting funding it’s ensuring it translates into measurable health outcomes. Nigeria needs to break the cycle of great plans that die at the implementation stage.”
The Abuja conference, themed “Transforming Nigeria’s Healthcare Landscape: Government Reforms as Catalysts for Unlocking the Full Potential of the Healthcare Value Chain”, brought together leaders from government, the private sector, and global development agencies reflecting the multi-stakeholder approach the government says will define this new era of healthcare reform.
