•As coalition flays release of 0.016% of 2025 health capital budget

THE Federal Government has emphasised the need to improve diagnosis, strengthen treatment pathways, and build sustainable systems of care to tackle the high burden of inherited blood disorders in the country.

This was even as the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) Nigeria, a group of stakeholders working together to improve the country’s healthcare system, has described as unacceptable the release of a mere N36 million out of the N218 billion capital budget allocated to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in 2025.

The coalition said the figure represents a paltry 0.016 per cent of the appropriated amount and exposes deep-seated structural weaknesses in public financial management and national development prioritisation.

Nigeria bears one of the world’s highest burdens of inherited blood disorders (IBDs), including haemophilia and sickle cell disease, conditions that continue to contribute significantly to morbidity, mortality, and socio-economic hardship.

Despite ongoing donor-supported initiatives and institutional efforts, access to diagnosis, treatment, and comprehensive care remains limited, inequitable, and largely unsustainable nationwide.

Speaking at the Nigeria Inherited Blood Disorders Leadership Forum in Abuja, organised by the Nigeria Society for Haematology and Blood Transfusion, with support from the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia and Hemoglobinopathies Foundation and Novo Nordisk Foundation, Director Hospital Services in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Adegoke Abisola, stressed the need for concrete action to improve care for inherited blood disorders nationwide through collaboration, partnership and sustainable investment.

She noted that Nigeria carries one of the world’s highest numbers of inherited blood disorders, but also holds tremendous potential for future innovation.

Abisola stated that the government intends to support stronger policy integration, increased domestic investment, and the development of patient-centred care models.

She added that the government is committed to strengthening treatment centres, raising awareness about these conditions, ensuring that there is solid data collection, advocating for enhanced care, and fostering the multi-spectrum collaboration that is essential to long-term progress.

Abisola, who disclosed that the government is improving access, quality and affordability of care, said the ministry has developed and updated guidelines and protocols to guide management in health facilities and ensure access to quality and affordable services.

She revealed plans by the ministry to ensure availability of factor concentrates and integrate treatment into the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) benefits package.

Also speaking, Professor of Heamatology and Consultant Haematologist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Prof. Omolade Augustina Awodu, stated that Nigeria bears one of the world’s heaviest burdens of inherited blood disorders, especially haemophilia and sickle cell disease, conditions that continue to exact a profound toll on lives, families, and the national health system.

She noted that despite decades of donor-supported interventions and the dedication of clinicians and patient advocates, access to timely diagnosis, essential treatment, and comprehensive care remains uneven and fragile.

Awodu observed that the gap between need and response is sustained not by lack of knowledge, but by limited policy integration, weak domestic financing, and insufficient coordination across sectors.

“It is against this backdrop that the Nigeria Inherited Blood Disorders Leadership Forum 2026 convenes in Abuja. Conceived as a high-level, solution-driven platform, the Forum brings together government leaders, health policymakers, clinicians, researchers, patient advocates, development partners, and faith and community actors to confront inherited blood disorders as a shared national responsibility rather than a marginal medical concern.”

According to her, the event was designed to catalyse enduring partnerships, align national priorities with patient realities, and lay the foundation for equitable, resilient, and locally sustained care for all Nigerians living with inherited blood disorders.

In his remarks, Prof. Sulaimon Akanmu of the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, identified under-diagnosis and poor recognition of haemophilia as major challenges affecting management of the disorder in the country.

He pointed out that with Nigeria’s population exceeding 200 million; about 18,000 people were expected to be living with haemophilia.

Also speaking, the Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital Haemophilia Treatment Centre, Prof. Titilope Adeyemo, who deplored the low haemophilia detection capacity in the country, stated that only six per cent of estimated cases were diagnosed in Nigeria, compared with 81 per cent in developed countries.

He added that only few facilities offer factor assays and confirmatory tests, mostly in urban centres.

Adeyemo noted that haemophilia has serious impact on patients’ families and communities with high cost of diagnosis due to out-of-pocket payment, stressing that clotting factor concentrates are unaffordable for average income earners.

On her part, Chairman of the forum, Prof. WuraolaShokunbi, emphasised the need for the Federal Government to set aside dedicated funding for haemophilia care, noting that many countries have specific budgets for managing the disorder.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the Chairman of HSRC, Dr. Muhammed Lecky, said such extreme under-release of capital funds threatens not only health outcomes, but also economic productivity, national health security and social stability.

He said 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 (NHSRII).

“Capital budgets are designed to build resilient systems, not merely sustain recurrent operations,” he said, adding that the near total collapse of capital releases implies halted construction of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities, stalled equipment procurement, delayed health technology investments and incomplete reforms targeting health workforce retention.

Lecky said strategic planning frameworks such as the NHSRII and its associated health sectors’ strategic blueprints lose legitimacy when they are not backed by predictable financing flows.

He also raised the issue of the overall poor budgetary allocation to the health sector. For instance, he said, out of the total federal budget of N58.4 trillion, only N2.915 trillion or 4.98 per cent was allocated to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare that has over 149 MDAs.

“This is far less than the 15 per cent Abuja Continental Declaration commitment for funding national health sectors. Based on the Abuja Declaration, the extant health vote leaves a funding gap of N5.9 trillion.

“We would also like to draw attention to the bulk capital vote to some projects in the 2026 budget without details. These projects are in excess of N92 billion and the details of what is to be done with the votes are not indicated.”

He said opacity and lack of details is usually the foundation of the absence of value for money, creating opportunities for mismanagement of funds.

Also speaking, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, called attention to the huge funding opportunities available through the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He said it is unfortunate the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has not prioritised the sensitisation of people to key into the system.