This article first appeared in Volume 54, Issue 1 of our print edition of Index on Censorship, titled The forgotten patients: Lost voices in the global healthcare system, published on 11 April 2025. Read more about the issue here.
With a growing population that now exceeds 200 million, Nigeria’s demand for effective healthcare is immense – but the sector is critically underfunded. Less than 4% of the country’s GDP has been spent on health in recent years, resulting in operational inefficiencies, the deterioration of medical infrastructure, health professionals migrating to other countries, and medical tourism, where wealthier Nigerians pay for healthcare abroad instead of at home.
This year, the health sector was allocated only 5.18% of the total governmental budget, which will further impact the provision of quality services and deepen disparities in access.
Last September, the World Bank approved a $1.57 billion loan for Nigeria, including $570 million to strengthen primary healthcare provision. This is one of many international funds provided to help improve the country’s healthcare infrastructure. However, systemic failures including corruption divert essential resources away from those who need them most.
A recent report from Transparency International – a global coalition against corruption – highlights corruption as a barrier to effective healthcare delivery globally and indicates that $500 billion is lost to the problem annually. Nigeria ranks 140 out of 180 in...
Some of the world’s largest food manufacturers, including Nestlé and Unilever, are flooding the market with expensive dietary supplements that promise solutions to stress, obesity, and menopausal ...