Stakeholders in the health sector have said that the 2024 budget by the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), revealed the varying prioritisation of healthcare services across Nigeria.
A comprehensive analysis of the budgets obtained from the states, showed that Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Abia and Bauchi are on top of the list of states with higher health expenditure, allocating between 15.0 per cent and 16.5 per cent of their total budgets to healthcare initiatives.
However, concerns loom as some states significantly lag behind in their health budgets in line with the 2021 African Union (AU) Health Expenditure benchmark, otherwise known as Abuja Declaration.
Official statistics showed that Kwara, Ekiti and Niger allocated less than two per cent of their budgets to health, indicating potential challenges in healthcare accessibility and infrastructure development.
“Kwara State, for instance, allocated 0.17 per cent of its budget to health, signaling potential challenges in healthcare delivery and infrastructure development,” it revealed.
The stakeholders also applauded the states that met the 15 per cent healthcare budget and called for adequate funding of the health sector in the country.
According to them, the discrepancies emphasise the urgent need for a more equitable distribution of healthcare funding to ensure all citizens have access to quality healthcare services, regardless of their geographical locations.
Mrs Maimuna Abdullahi, a Health Economist, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN), said that citizens in states with lower health budget allocations should demand their rights to better healthcare by taking several actions.
“Educate fellow citizens about the importance of healthcare funding and its impact on their well-being.
“Use social media, community meetings, and grassroots campaigns to spread awareness,” she said, adding that they should form advocacy groups focusing on healthcare issues.
These groups, she said, could organise rallies, petition government officials, and engage in advocacy to demand increased healthcare funding.
She said that the people should send correspondences or make phone calls to government representatives, to express concerns about low healthcare funding.
“Attend town hall meetings and public forums to directly address policymakers,” she said.
Corroborating earlier opinion, Mrs Tina Atala, a lawyer in the FCT, said that people at the grassroots should explore legal avenues such as filing lawsuits or seek legal advice to challenge inadequate healthcare funding.
