You can have all the money in the world, but without health, you have nothing.
Today, Nigeria has about 4 doctors for every 10,000 people, World Health Organisation(WHO) African Region data for 2024 puts it at 3.95 to 4.1 per 10,000.
The WHO benchmark is 4.45 doctors per 10,000 just to meet basic needs, and 10 per 10,000 (1 doctor to 1,000 people) for adequate coverage. We are below both. Only 55,000 licensed doctors are actively practicing for over 220 million Nigerians, about 1 doctor to 4,000 people. In some northern states, it’s 1 to 45,000.
And we lose about 2,000 doctors every year to Japa, in 2024 alone, 3,974 doctors requested letters to go abroad, which is 85% of all doctors who graduated that year. Not because they don’t love Nigeria, but because no light in hospital, no equipment, salary no dey come.
The result: 512 women die per 100,000 live births, one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Life expectancy is just 55 years. Children still die from malaria that N2,000 drug can cure. Big men fly to London for check-up that University College Hospital (UCH) or Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) should handle.
How much do we spend on health? In 2025 budget, only 4.33% (N2.38 trillion out of N54.9 trillion), far below the 15% promised in the 2001 Abuja Declaration that Nigeria signed. In 24 years, we have never met it. Average is 5%. Out-of-pocket spending is 71-75%, people sell land because pikin sick. Only 1 in 10 Nigerians has health insurance.
What Better Nigeria looks like:
- Primary Health Centre (PHC) in every ward works: One functional PHC per ward, with light, water, nurse, and basic drugs, not just building. 80% of our health infrastructure is dysfunctional today. Health should not be 10km away.
- Keep our doctors: Pay health workers well, give them equipment, give them housing near hospital, end the strike cycle. If we train 4,399 doctors, we must not lose 3,974 the same year.
- Health insurance for all: The NHIA Act 2022 makes it mandatory — but coverage is still only 10-12%. Target: N2,000 per month for family cover, Basic Health Care Provision Fund(BHCPF) raised from 1% to 2% of revenue. So nobody goes broke because of sickness.
Rwanda did it, 90% health insurance coverage. Ghana did it. We can do it too.
Your action today: Check your State Health Insurance Scheme, have you registered? Encourage one person to do check-up. And ask your LGA Chairman: How many PHCs in our LGA have light, water, and drugs TODAY?
If health fails, everything fails.
