The Federal Government has secured more than $1 billion in concessional financing and grants to revitalise Nigeria’s healthcare system, according to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziag Salako.
Speaking at the BusinessDay Health Conference in Abuja on Thursday, Salako said the funding—sourced through engagements with partners such as the WHO, USAID, World Bank, Global Fund, UNICEF, UNFPA, and TARGET—will support the country’s ongoing health sector reforms.
He described revitalising the health sector as not merely an administrative goal but a national imperative.
“Strategic partnerships have been central to our reform efforts,” Salako said. “We have redefined our collaboration with key partners to better align with Nigeria’s health priorities. Through these partnerships, we have secured over $1 billion in concessional financing and grants to support the transformation of our health system.”
Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, health is regarded “not as a cost centre but as an investment in national prosperity, productivity, and security,” he added.
Salako outlined the government’s transformation agenda as being focused on saving lives and improving patient outcomes. A key part of the strategy is the adoption of a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp)—a governance model aimed at reducing fragmentation in health policy and financing.
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“SWAp aligns domestic and external resources under a unified framework, ensuring efficiency and reducing duplication,” he said, noting that the approach has already improved coherence in partner and donor contributions.
To address workforce challenges, the government has expanded training capacity across institutions, increased medical school admissions, and recruited about 50,000 health professionals to strengthen federal health institutions.
“The government is also tackling medical brain drain through a Health Worker Migration Policy and the deployment of digital workforce tracking platforms,” Salako noted.
On infrastructure and energy supply, the Minister announced the launch of the Energy for Health Initiative, which aims to provide reliable power to federal hospitals. In collaboration with the Ministry of Power, the Rural Electrification Agency, the World Bank, and Gavi, solar hybrid systems are being deployed to ensure uninterrupted power in critical care units.
