Public health expert and former Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Akin Osibogun, has said Nigeria needs at least $1 billion in urgent investment and 360,000 medical doctors to strengthen its health system.
He made the call at the 2025 Physicians’ Week Scientific Conference organised by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State Branch, with the theme ‘Healthcare as a Value Chain: Building Efficiency from Policy to Patient’.
Osibogun emphasised the need for Nigeria to achieve better results in the health sector.
“We cannot allocate five per cent and expect that the health outcomes in Nigeria will catch up with the health outcomes in Europe or the United States (U.S.). To catch up, Nigerian governments at all levels need to invest in health,” he said.
He noted that some of Nigeria’s over 55,000 registered medical doctors were not practising in the country.
Based on the African benchmark of one doctor for every 600 citizens, he suggested that Nigeria needs at least 360,000 doctors to meet its population’s health needs.
The former CMD called for immediate action and funding to build capacity across the health value chain.
“We should find $1 billion immediately and put it into the health sector to train health workers,” he said.
According to him, such investments will increase the health sector’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from five per cent to 15 per cent, while creating jobs and enhancing productivity.
“The health sector can provide employment opportunities for Nigerians, reduce poverty, and grow the economy, if properly funded,” he added.
Lagos NMA Chairman, Dr Babajide Saheed, lamented deductions from doctors’ September 2025 salaries.
“Our members received lower pay last month (September). Our salaries were deducted. They said we were overpaid. We are urging the government to correct this,” Saheed said.
Noting that similar deductions had occurred in April before refunds were made, Saheed appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene quickly, warning that continued deductions could affect morale and worsen the brain drain among doctors.
Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, stated that the legislature would investigate the matter. “This is the first time I have heard about this, but we will look into it and take necessary steps,” she said.
However, Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Afolabi Ayantayo, in a post on X, denied any deliberate pay reduction, saying the deductions were part of an internal administrative process.
In his address, NMA President, Prof. Bala Audu, said Nigeria’s health system still faced major funding and workforce challenges.
