Nigeria’s health sector requires all-round reforms in 2026, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has said.

The association said its position was informed by the alleged lapses the sector recorded in the outgoing year.

The NMA said the sector, in 2025, recorded a weak policy focus, persistent workforce crises and poor financing.

It noted that the lapses have continued to undermine healthcare delivery across the board.

In a year-end review of the Federal Government’s health sector performance, the Lagos Chairman of the association, Dr. Saheed Babajide Kehinde, described the performance of the sector as “highly unfortunate, unacceptable and disappointing”.

He blamed the government for the alleged lack of clear priorities by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as well as the insufficient political attention to healthcare delivery.

In a statement yesterday, the Lagos NMA chairman said 2025 witnessed an absence of decisive interventions to address the worsening “Japa syndrome,” the mass emigration of healthcare professionals, alongside poor remuneration, weak welfare packages and inadequate training opportunities for health workers.

Kehinde noted that industrial disputes dominated much of the year, with the Federal Government struggling to manage recurring strikes by health sector unions and professional bodies.

The disruptions, he said, repeatedly denied the citizens access to essential healthcare services.

Kehinde also faulted the ministry’s perceived emphasis on data collection, research and engagement with international partners, arguing that this focus was at the expense of strengthening the core healthcare delivery system, particularly at the primary healthcare level.

Nigeria’s health indices remained troubling in 2025, the Lagos NMA chairman said, citing poor progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), low health insurance penetration and the rising cost of healthcare services. High prices of drugs, consumables, medical equipment and diagnostic services have continued to place care beyond the reach of many Nigerians.

Other persistent challenges highlighted in the review include poor budgetary allocation to the health sector, low healthcare financing, unreliable power supply to health institutions and weak attention to primary healthcare, which is meant to serve as the foundation of the country’s health system.

Kehinde acknowledged modest gains in health infrastructure development, particularly in hospital buildings, but stressed that physical structures alone cannot deliver quality healthcare without adequate staffing, equipment, power supply and sustainable financing.

Looking ahead, the NMA Lagos chairman outlined a comprehensive reform agenda it believes should define the federal government’s health priorities in 2026.

Top of the list is the introduction of better living wages and improved remuneration for healthcare workers, alongside enhanced welfare packages aimed at retaining skilled professionals in the country.

To curb the “Japa syndrome,” the union leader proposed a mix of incentives, including affordable housing and car loans, regular training and retraining, clear career progression pathways, access to modern equipment, overseas training opportunities and more worker-friendly policies. He also called for a halt to assaults on healthcare workers and demanded non-taxable call duty allowances.

Baring his mind on service delivery in the sector, the chairman urged the government to make healthcare more accessible, affordable and qualitative by expanding the University Hospital College (UHC) in Ibadan, reforming health insurance policies and reducing the cost of care through lower tariffs on medical equipment and consumables, as well as price control measures on essential drugs.

The association also renewed its call for the implementation of the extended retirement age for healthcare workers, stronger prioritisation of primary healthcare and deeper collaboration between government and private hospitals to reduce mortality and improve access.

Other recommendations include improving power supply to health institutions, reviewing health sector budgetary allocation from about six per cent to the 15 per cent target set under the Abuja Declaration, and ensuring transparency and efficiency in the use of health funds.

Dr. Kehinde also urged the Minister of Health to adopt a more inclusive and respectful approach to industrial relations, noting that unresolved strikes, such as those involving the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), have had severe consequences for patients.

He also advocated the establishment of specialist hospitals across the six geopolitical zones, including infectious disease centres, and improved security and working conditions to reduce burnout and mental stress among healthcare workers.

The 2025 review underscored long-standing structural challenges in Nigeria’s health sector and sets a clear benchmark for performance in 2026.

For the federal government, health experts say the coming year will be a defining test of its willingness to move beyond policy rhetoric and deliver concrete reforms that place healthcare workers and patients at the centre of national development. (The Nation)

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