Health Sector : Coalition Seek Funding In Line With Health Care Financing Policy Strategy

The Health Sector Reform Coalition has called for proceeds from taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages to be ring-fenced for the health sector, in line with the Nigeria Health Care Financing Policy and Strategy.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Dr. Muhammad Lecky, representing the coalition, said the policy recommends earmarking five percent of alcohol tax, twenty percent of tobacco tax, three kobo per second on phone calls, and zero point five percent of Companies Income Tax for health funding.

Dr. Lecky noted that although these taxes aim to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce non-communicable diseases, budget estimates have largely ignored them, limiting the sector’s funding.

Dr. Lecky also said the 0.016 per cent capital release rate confirmed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, during the ministry’s 2026 budget defence, exposed deep structural weaknesses in public financial management .

According to him, “Budget appropriation without corresponding cash backing undermines the credibility of Nigeria’s planning frameworks and foretells grave danger for the ongoing Health Sector Strategic Blueprint under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.”

He warned that the near-total collapse of capital releases meant halted construction of primary healthcare centres, stalled equipment procurement, delayed health technology investments, and incomplete workforce reforms.

He explained, “Data from the Budget Office obtained by HSRC showed that capital implementation in the health sector has averaged only 31.49 per cent over four years: 40.09 per cent (2021), 35.76 per cent (2022), 17.30 per cent (2023), and 32.20 per cent (2024), noting that 2025 was shaping up as the worst-performing year.”

Dr. Lecky also reacting to the 2026 proposals, he noted that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare received N2.915 trillion out of the N58.47 trillion overall budget, representing just 4.98 per cent of total expenditure .

Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Africa Health Budget Network, Aminu Magashi, explained that non-communicable diseases account for nearly thirty percent of deaths in Nigeria, yet only six percent of the health budget is allocated to their prevention and control.

In his contribution, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, warned that delayed capital releases have halted construction of primary healthcare centres, stalled equipment procurement, slowed health technology investments, and left workforce reforms incomplete.

“Onyekpere expressed deep worries “that development assistance for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and immunisation was declining due to shifting donor priorities, with the United States pausing foreign aid and GAVI set to follow suit.

He noted that, “this reduction threatens critical services and exposes Nigeria’s over-reliance on external funding, compounded by structural inability to meet counterpart funding commitments consistently.”

While explaining the need for Nigerian government to prioritize the health sector, Professor Oladapo Ladipo observed that some advanced countries do not jeopardise their health and educational sector.

Professor Ladipo therefore called on the Federal Government to set targets towards an improved education and health sector through budget allocation and implementation.

Florence Adewale, Edited By Grace Namiji