By canvassing global support for science and investment in world health systems as she did recently, the wife of the President, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, has rightly postulated that consistent and sustainable investment is the anchor upon which innovation in health sciences is rooted. Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s message is significant, coming as it were on the occasion of the 2026 World Health Day, which was tagged “Together for Health. Stand with science.” She stated that sustainable growth in healthcare is predicated on innovation, research, and robust collaboration across nations and sectors. She noted that scientific partnerships play significant role in tackling global health challenges.

While health functionaries are usually keen to align with advocacy as that of the First Lady, they have failed consistently to accord the country’s health sector the much needed investment and other necessary attention. Most public officials prefer to patronize health facilities abroad because they can afford it; leaving the average Nigerian with decrepit hospitals and health facilities.

At different times, collaborations have scaled up advancements in research and medical science. For instance, during catastrophic cross-border pandemics, such as Covid-19 and Ebola, the world rallied to provide solution, in vaccines and other containment measures. Those moments have made clear that physical borders may not be sufficient to isolate vulnerabilities.

To commemorate the day this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO), signaled the urgency to combat health misinformation, strengthen evidence-based policy, and promote scientific collaboration for a “One Health” approach. The goal is to protect humans, plants, animals and the planet. The WHO seeks to rebuild trust in scientific evidence and combat misinformation and inter-connected health challenges. The global health body urged governments, scientists and the public to prioritise data and innovation to build more resilient health systems.

Here at home, there is no doubt that Nigeria’s health systems are not resilient. Rather, the systems are in a shambles because for decades governments have not prioritized health. The systems have been underfunded and facilities rendered unsustainable. In dismantling the Second Republic, the military described the country’s hospitals as having become ‘mere consulting clinics.’ Since then, there haven’t been serious efforts by successive governments to scale up the sector, in terms of sustainable investment.

Worried by the persistent low funding of health, African political leaders at the Abuja Declaration of April 2001 directed member states of African Union (AU), to allocate at least 15 per cent of their annual budgets to the health sector. However, most countries have failed repeatedly to increase their health budgets. Health funding only hovered around 7.2 per cent average in the continent.

The Federal Government struggles to barely keep the sector. In 2024, it budgeted around 4.6 per cent to the sector. In 2025 it was 5.15 per cent and that of 2026 is around 4.2 per cent. The shortfall notwithstanding, recurrent expenditure takes around 78 per cent of the total allocation. This means that significant sums are spent on salaries and overheads, rather than in building resilient systems. There is barely anything left to fund capital expenses. Out of the N218 billion appropriated for the Federal Ministry of Health’s capital projects in 2025, the minister of Health, Ali Pate revealed that only N36 million (about 0.0165 per cent) was released as at February 2026.

This funding gap is responsible for the deplorable condition of health facilities across tertiary health institutions across the country. Diagnostic and laboratory facilities are not up to date but left to decay over time. This has shifted the responsibility of timely and efficient medical investigation into a handful of private sector operators. The cost is prohibitive for the larger population of Nigerians.

Cost of medicine and treatment are also astronomical, particularly for over 200 million citizens who cannot afford the cost of medical treatment abroad. Households spend more than six per cent of their income on health, which constitutes a strain on family resources.

Meanwhile, the elite, especially politicians and political office holders travel around the world for their health needs. They do not mind the strain of their luxurious lifestyles on the economy, which is estimated at over $3.6 billion yearly ($40 billion in over a decade), as lamented by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso. Those in the corridor of power owe posterity a duty to lead by example. Let them improve on and patronise local health institutions.

Nigeria must return to that era when it was reported that our foremost tertiary health facility, the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, catered to high-net-worth citizens around the globe. It begins with fiscal discipline, timely releases of capital budgets and insisting funds are invested transparently and accountably.

Today, the UCH and other institutions of its cadre are a shadow of their previous state of excellence. They are in darkness as they can no longer pay commercial rates for privatized electricity. Energy owners classify tertiary health institutions as commercial outfits rather than facilities rendering social service. Government should compel a reversal of this mindset or provide sufficient fund to meet energy bills.

Health insurance is not available for majority of citizens. Coverage is abysmal, only available to roughly five per cent of the population. Every effort to expand it is met with bureaucratic lethargy and corruption. Paying out-of-pocket is costly for the majority. That must change.

This government should climb down from sermons at podiums to deliver quality health. Quality health and quality education are top indices of development. Health tourism for the political class is not a sustainable habit for the country. It is a costly habit that denies Nigerians opportunities for healthcare.

Failure to invest in healthcare is the reason there is massive brain drain in the sector. Nigeria should not be training health personnel for other countries. Nigerians have had enough of podium rhetoric and need more investment at home. Quality healthcare for citizens is a constitutional right, not a privilege.