World Health Day: CAPPA Urges Govt to Fix Health Funding, Policy Gaps

CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on governments at all levels to urgently address what it described as chronic underfunding and policy failures in Nigeria’s health sector, warning that the situation is worsening the country’s disease burden.

The group made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday to mark World Health Day 2026.

CAPPA said Nigeria has consistently failed to meet the 15 per cent health budget benchmark set under the Abuja Declaration, noting that even approved allocations are often not fully released.

It cited figures from the Budget Office of the Federation, stating that only N36 million of the N218 billion allocated to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s 2025 capital budget had reportedly been released. In 2024, it added, N26.552 billion was released out of N233.656 billion earmarked for capital projects.

CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the gap between budgetary provisions and actual releases has weakened the health system.

According to him, the consequences include limited access to essential medicines, overstretched facilities, shortage of health workers driven partly by migration, high out-of-pocket healthcare costs, and a rising burden of non-communicable diseases.

The organisation said non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart-related conditions now account for about 29 per cent of annual deaths in Nigeria.

CAPPA urged the government to prioritise preventive measures, including stronger regulation of unhealthy diets. It advocated an increase in the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage tax from the current N10 per litre levy to at least 50 per cent of retail price, in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization.

The group also called for complementary policies such as mandatory sodium reduction targets, front-of-pack labelling for processed foods, and restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly to children.

It further raised concerns about tobacco-related diseases, describing the N13 million allocation to the Tobacco Control Fund as inadequate and calling for an increase to at least N300 million.

CAPPA urged governments and policymakers to scale up health sector funding, ensure timely release of approved budgets, and strengthen accountability.

“Prevention must become central to Nigeria’s health strategy,” Oluwafemi said, stressing the need for evidence-based policies backed by adequate funding.

The organisation reiterated its call for coordinated action to improve public health outcomes and reduce the growing burden of preventable diseases in the country.