Sixty-five years after independence, Nigeria’s health sector remains a mirror reflecting both the nation’s resilience and its many shortcomings. While there have been moments of triumph such as the eradication of polio and strides in vaccination campaign these are overshadowed by deep structural challenges that continue to endanger lives.
Nigeria’s hospitals tell a sobering story. Many facilities are underfunded, ill-equipped, and overcrowded. The doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the world, worsened by the exodus of medical professionals in search of greener pastures abroad. Rural communities, where millions live, are the most neglected, often left without access to trained health workers or even basic medicines.
The persistence of malaria, maternal mortality, and child deaths underscores the tragic gap between Nigeria and global health standards. Life expectancy remains painfully low, with preventable diseases still claiming lives daily. These failures are not for lack of knowledge or effort but stem from chronic underfunding, policy inconsistency, and weak political will.
Yet, the story is not all bleak. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has demonstrated the ability to mount rapid responses to health emergencies, including COVID-19 and Lassa fever outbreaks. Private-sector innovation and international partnerships have provided lifelines where government effort has faltered. But such gains cannot substitute for a well-financed, nationally coordinated health system.
At 65, Nigeria must acknowledge a simple truth: health is not a luxury, it is the foundation of development. No nation can prosper when its citizens are trapped in cycles of disease and poverty. The Abuja Declaration of 2001, which urged African governments to allocate 15 percent of their budgets to health, must become more than rhetoric.
The time for half-measures has passed. Nigeria must invest in primary healthcare, incentivize medical professionals to stay, and modernize its hospitals. Anything less will condemn another generation to needless suffering.
As the nation marks this milestone, we must ask ourselves: will the next 65 years still be spent lamenting the same failures, or will we summon the courage to build a health system worthy of our people?
