World Health Day: CAPPA Blasts Nigeria’s “Paper Budgets”, Demands Urgent Health Sector Reforms
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
In Nigeria, the healthcare crisis is no longer just about funding, it is about promises made on paper but rarely delivered in practice.
As the world marks World Health Day 2026, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on governments to urgently fix chronic underfunding and policy failures crippling the nation’s health system.
In a strongly worded statement, CAPPA revealed that Nigeria has consistently fallen short of the 15 per cent health budget benchmark set under the Abuja Declaration, with even approved funds often not fully released.
The group cited alarming cases where only fractions of allocated budgets reached the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for implementation.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, warned that the funding gap is worsening access to medicines, overstretching facilities and driving up out-of-pocket costs, while a growing wave of non-communicable diseases now accounts for nearly a third of annual deaths.
Aligning with the 2026 theme, “Together for health: Stand with science,” the organisation urged evidence-based reforms, including a significant increase in the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage tax to at least 50 per cent of retail price, alongside stricter food labelling and sodium reduction policies.
CAPPA also raised concerns over poor funding for tobacco control, describing current allocations as grossly inadequate to tackle rising nicotine use.
The group’s message was clear: without real investment, preventive policies and accountability, Nigeria’s health system risks deepening its silent crisis.
Follow the Savinews Africa channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VawgaEL5vKA9Y5XTFg0n
