Health
Nigeria, Others Lose $2.4trn to Diseases Yearly—WHO
By Dipo Olowookere
Nearly 630 million years of healthy life were lost in 2015 due to the diseases afflicting the population across 47 African countries, now amounting to a loss of more than $2.4 trillion from the region’s gross domestic product value annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
Five countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania) accounted for almost 50 percent of the total years lost in healthy life (or DALYs) accrued in the WHO African Region.
In a statement released recently, the global health agency said non-communicable diseases have overtaken infectious diseases as the largest drain on productivity, accounting for 37 percent of the disease burden. Other culprits for lost healthy years are communicable and parasitic diseases; maternal, neonatal and nutrition-related conditions; and injuries.
WHO said it discovered that around 47 percent, or $796 billion, of this lost productivity value could be avoided in 2030 if the Sustainable Development Goals related to these health conditions are achieved.
“Four years into the implementation of countries’ efforts towards achieving UHC, current average expenditure on health in the Region falls short of this expectation,” the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, writes in the foreword to A Heavy Burden: The Productivity Cost of Illness in Africa, which was launched during the second WHO Africa Health Forum this week in Cabo Verde.
As a target of Sustainable Development Goal 3, universal health coverage would require countries in the WHO African Region to spend, on average, at least $271 per capita per year on health, or 7.5 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.
According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates, attaining the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will require spending ranging from $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion per year until 2030, or up to $37.5 trillion. Low-income countries will need an additional $671 billion dollars ($76 per capita on average) until 2030 to attain the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
To achieve the health-related SDG targets, countries must invest adequately in the development of resilient national and local health systems to effectively, affordably and efficiently deliver the integrated packages of proven cost-effective interventions contained in relevant programmatic global strategies and plans to target populations in need.
The findings of the WHO study on disease burden suggest that health systems strengthening should focus on rich as well as poor countries and on all ages as well as on the specific disease categories.
The unpredictability of public revenues combined with mounting debt pressure is limiting the potential fiscal space that can be made available for health. Private financing sources have filled the gap, but either with out-of-pocket expenses that result in financial hardship or insufficient voluntary private health insurance that is not effective in extending service coverage to those that need it.
As the report emphasizes, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including the target of universal health coverage, will require political will and greater focus on government-led planning and financing for health. It will also necessitate greater outlays from public revenue, reforms to raise additional revenue and strategic purchasing mechanisms. And it will require that people usually left behind be put at the centre of health financing reform.
“This report illustrates how achievement of the critical health SDG targets, including universal health coverage, would contribute to poverty eradication efforts on a large scale, reduce disparities in lifespan, tackle social exclusion and promote political stability and economic development in the WHO African Region,” explains Grace Kabaniha, Health Economist in the WHO Regional Office for Africa. “It also provides much-needed evidence that ministries of health can use in dialogue on resource allocation with ministries of finance. It adds to the body of evidence showing that health is a strategic investment for development.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its efforts to safeguard public health in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has strengthened its regulatory framework for blood and blood products.
A statement signed on Thursday by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that to achieve its goal, the agency will collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to establish a robust regulatory framework that promotes the availability of safe, quality-assured and efficacious blood and blood products, while strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
NAFDAC said it intends to partner with government institutions, healthcare providers, blood establishments, development partners and other stakeholders for the robust oversight.
Mrs Adeyeye disclosed that already, her organisation has received the support of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate.
According to her, NAFDAC has been given the mandate to regulate blood and blood products in line with global best practices and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that these products be subject to oversight by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) for medicines.
She said blood and blood products are classified as essential medicines and must be consistently available with assured quality, safety and affordability, stressing that the aim is to protect patients throughout the blood transfusion chain.
Effective regulatory oversight will support the quality and safety of blood products from donor assessment and collection through testing, processing, storage, transportation and use, the NAFDAC chief noted.
Several African countries, including Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Rwanda, have already established regulatory oversight of blood and blood products by their NRAS, she added.
Mrs Adeyeye pointed out that NAFDAC’s renewed regulatory preparedness builds on its broader transformation into a modern, science-based regulatory authority.
Already, it has attained WHO Maturity Level 3, completed WHO Global Benchmarking ML3 re-assessment, obtained WHO prequalification for its drug laboratory, and established internationally accredited laboratory and quality management systems. These capabilities provide a strong foundation for the effective regulation of blood and blood products.
As part of its preparedness, NAFDAC has established a dedicated Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Registration and Regulation Directorate to oversee the registration and regulation of these products.
The agency established a Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Laboratory Services many years ago, but became a Directorate in 2024, responsible for quality control, including laboratory testing and lot release, while the Directorate of Evaluation and Research provides oversight of Good Manufacturing Practices. An ultra-modern laboratory facility is also being developed to further strengthen its capacity for the assessment and quality control of vaccines and biologics.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An organisation known as GoMed Nigeria is offering free reproductive health services to Nigerian students through a digital self-care platform.
This is being delivered through a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Lagos State Government.
The pilot scheme will be available to students of the University of Lagos. They will enjoy easier and more private access to essential health products, accurate information, and professional support.
Young Nigerians face some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unmet need for contraception in the world.
Cost, distance, stigma, misinformation, and fears about confidentiality routinely stop students from seeking the products and guidance they need, with consequences that include unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections and interrupted education.
The self-care platform is designed to remove each of these barriers. Through the platform, students receive free contraceptives and other sexual and reproductive health commodities provided through the Lagos State Ministry of Health and UNFPA, exclusive discounts on health essentials, and fast, discreet delivery directly to campus and student hostels.
Students can also access trusted sexual and reproductive health information and services through UNFPA’s SoftLife 247 and U-Plan platforms. Through U-PLAN, they can chat directly with qualified Family Planning Service Providers to receive accurate information and address their concerns. They can also confidently engage with GoMed’s registered pharmacists for confidential, judgement-free guidance on medicines and other health products.
“Students should be able to get reliable health information and essential products without cost, distance or fear of judgement becoming barriers.
“This platform brings free sexual and reproductive health commodities, other affordable health products and professional guidance together, with discreet delivery directly to students on campus,” the chief executive of GoMed Nigeria, Mr Anthony Edeki, said.
Also speaking, UNFPA in Nigeria Resident Representative, Muriel Mafico, said, “As the UN agency mandated for “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, we are committed to reducing preventable maternal deaths and addressing the unmet need for family planning, including by providing and overseeing access to life-saving commodities worldwide.
“Working alongside our partners, we’re helping roll out the digital Self-Care Platform—so that vital, life-changing information can reach more people, more easily. Together, we want to empower Nigeria’s next generation to make informed health choices and achieve stronger health outcomes and a brighter future.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A financing framework to accelerate the electrification of health facilities nationwide has been approved by the federal government.
The approval was announced at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministries of Power and Health and Social Welfare.
The committee was constituted to ensure reliable electricity in at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027.
At the meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr Isiaq Salako, and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) presented the recommendations under consideration.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Salako said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework to mobilise investment for healthcare electrification, alongside a facility energy management framework requiring participating hospitals to build sustainable systems for managing their energy infrastructure.
He said the committee also cleared eight (8) private sector proposals for further engagement, drawn from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos.
The Health Minister added that Energy Management Teams are already in place at federal tertiary hospitals, with state governments being encouraged to set up similar structures. The initiative will now be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary provisions and a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
On his part, Mr Tegbe declared that the initiative must now move from announcements to actual project delivery.
Describing the NPHI as one of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, he said the emphasis should shift towards commissioning completed projects that Nigerians can see for themselves, rather than further groundbreaking ceremonies and public messaging.
He emphasised the need for teaching hospitals, state hospitals, and primary healthcare centres to be fully energised, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency has already energised 5 Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities nationwide.
He also tied the initiative directly to patient outcomes, arguing that dependable power would end hospitals’ reliance on emergency generators, and pledged that the Ministry would continue to prioritise the initiative’s funding needs while ensuring value for money.
