Health
Senate Moves to Block Medical Tourism
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has moved to block revenue leakages from medical tourism by coming up with a bill aimed to reduce the number of Nigerians travelling abroad for medical care.
In a bill titled Federal Medical Centres (Establishment) Bill, 2021 sponsored by Mrs Aishatu Ahmed (APC, Adamawa Central), on Thursday, the upper chamber of the parliament moved to effect structures that will stop the trend.
Leading debate on the bill, Mrs Ahmed said the absence of a legal framework for the regulation, development and management of Federal Medical Centers, which were established to render health services, was responsible for hindering the provision of intensive, effective and efficient health care services to the people of Nigeria.
According to the lawmaker, “this has led to a number of challenges in the health sector including but not limited to under-funding, weak facilities and infrastructure, poor motivation of health workers, low budget, weak accountability, conflicts with the political structure of the states and industrial strikes which has led to inadequacies, shortcomings and weaknesses which hinder effective health care delivery services.”
She noted that the passage of the bill will “reduce the number of Nigerians who have to go to other countries for medical care.”
The lawmaker lamented that “an average of 20,000 Nigerians travel to India each year for medical assistance due to the absence of a solid healthcare system at home.”
Senator Ahmed further noted that the piece of legislation would also sufficiently address remuneration of the employees of the Medical Centers which in turn would check the exodus of doctors and nurses to other countries.
“Seventy-seven per cent of black doctors in the US are Nigerians and there is rarely any top medical institution in the US or Europe where you don’t find Nigerians managing at the top level.
“Hardly a year passes without a major national strike by nurses, doctors, or health consultants. The major reasons for these strikes are poor salaries and lack of government investment in the health sector,” she said.
Citing a report of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, Mrs Ahmed stressed that the bill would “improve on the persistent rate of avoidable deaths of all Nigerians.”
“A recent UNICEF report has it that preventable or treatable diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria,” she said.
She added that with the right data, Nigeria would witness improvements in the health information system, regular and sustainable population and health-facility-based surveys; as well as have a centralized management of the many challenges of the 23 Federal Medical Centers in the country.
Contributing to the debate, Mr Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central) said Federal Medical Centres were incapacitated as a result of the absence of legal backing establishing them and insufficient funding.
“We have about twenty-three Federal Medical Centres that were established across the country, but without legal backing.
“The consequence of such is that there are, what I will call policy somersault as regards the operations of these centres.
“You see some of the centres that have enough facilities and manpower to even be termed a Teaching Hospital, but because the legal framework did not state the standard, in terms of infrastructures, manpower and services, they remain like that, and it becomes at the whims and caprices of the policymakers in the Federal Ministry of Health.
“The consequences in terms of funding allocation, Federal Medical Centres receive less fund compared to Teaching Hospitals,” the lawmaker said.
On his part, Mr Ibn Na’Allah said the bill was timely as it seeks “to ensure that all institutions of government are governed by law.”
“We cannot continue to operate a democracy where public funds are disbursed to institutions that are not recognized by law. That is not right,” Mr Na’Allah added.
The bill, after scaling second reading, was referred to the Committee on Health by the Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, for further legislative work.
The committee, which is chaired by Mr Oloriegbe, is expected to report back in four weeks.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Efforts to entrench mandatory health insurance through the Ilera Eko Social Health Insurance Scheme in Lagos State have been stepped by the state government.
This was done with the formal investiture of the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Mrs Kemi Ogunyemi, as Enforcement Leads of the Lagos State Health Scheme Executive Order and ILERA EKO Champions.
The Commissioner described the recognition as both symbolic and strategic, noting that Lagos is deliberately shifting residents away from out-of-pocket healthcare spending to insurance-based financing.
“We have been battling with how to increase enrolment in ILERA EKO and change the culture of cash payment for healthcare. Insurance is a social safety net, and this mindset shift is non-negotiable,” he said.
He recalled that Lagos became the first state to domesticate the 2022 National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act through an Executive Order issued in July 2024, making health insurance mandatory. He stressed that the decision reflected the Governor’s strong commitment to healthcare financing reform, adding, “When Mr. Governor personally edits and re-edits a document, it shows how critical that issue is to the future of Lagosians.”
Mr Abayomi also warned against stigmatisation of insured patients, describing negative attitudes towards Ilera Eko enrolees as a major barrier to uptake. “If someone presents an Ilera Eko card and is treated as inferior, uptake will suffer. That must stop,” he said, pledging to prioritise insurance compliance during facility inspections. “The key question I will keep asking is: ‘Where is the Ilera Eko?’”
In her remarks, Mrs Ogunyemi, said the enforcement role goes beyond a title, stressing that the health insurance scheme is now law.
“This is about Universal Health Coverage and equitable access to quality healthcare for everyone in Lagos State,” she said, noting that ILERA EKO aligns with the state’s THEMES Plus Agenda.
She commended the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) for aggressive sensitisation efforts across the state, saying constant visibility was necessary to address persistent gaps in public knowledge. “People are still asking, ‘What is Ilera Eko?’ ‘Where do I enrol?’ Those questions tell us the work must continue,” she said.
She urged all directors and health officials to mainstream Ilera Eko promotion in every programme and engagement, emphasising that responsibility for health insurance advocacy does not rest with LASHMA alone. “When people come with medical bills, the first question should be: are you insured?” she said, adding that early enrolment remains critical as premiums rise over time.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of LASHMA, Ms Emmanuella Zamba, said the investiture marked a critical step in positioning leadership to drive enforcement of the Executive Order across the public service.
“What we are undertaking is pioneering in Nigeria. All eyes are on Lagos as we demonstrate how mandatory health insurance can work,” she said.
Ms Zamba disclosed that enforcement nominees across Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been trained, with a structure in place to ensure compliance beyond the health sector.
According to her, “This initiative cuts across the entire public service, particularly public-facing MDAs, in line with the provisions of the Executive Order.”
She explained that the formal designation of the Commissioner and the Special Adviser as Enforcement Leaders was meant to strengthen compliance, alongside the Head of Service, while also recognising their consistent advocacy for universal health coverage. “This decoration is to amplify their roles and appreciate the leadership they have shown,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted 24 bills for consideration of the Senate which seeks to reduce the country’s over-bloated board memberships in the health sector.
The bills were conveyed alongside a letter addressed to President of Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary on Tuesday, in line with Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
President Tinubu said the proposed legislations followed a comprehensive review of existing health sector laws by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
He said the review, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), was in collaboration with the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
According to the President, the bills aims at streamlining governance structures across health institutions by reducing over-bloated board memberships.
This, he said, would improve efficiency, effectiveness, and service delivery within the sector.
According to him, the proposed legislations cover a wide range of health institutions and regulatory bodies, including tertiary and teaching hospitals, specialty hospitals, professional councils, and regulatory agencies.
He said the bills transmitted to the Senate includes the National Hospital for Women and Children, Abuja, Federal Medical Centres, National Specialty Hospitals Management Board; Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board
Others are the National Eye Centre, National Ear Care Centre, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria; Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Blood Service Agency, among others.
The President also listed additional legislative proposals such as the Records Officers Registration and Digital Health Bill 2025 and the Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Bill 2025.
President Tinubu expressed confidence that the Senate would give the bills careful and judicious consideration in the interest of strengthening Nigeria’s health sector.
After the letter accompanying the bills was read, Senate President referred all the 24 bills to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A new pan-African mental wellness campaign, the Africa Wellness Voices Initiative (AWVI), is set to launch this February, bringing together voices from across Africa to promote mental wellbeing, reduce stigma, and encourage supportive conversations around mental health.
Led by SereniMind, a mental health and wellness organization, AWVI will spotlight different African countries daily throughout February by sharing short wellness statements from individuals, organizations, youth leaders, and institutions.
Each daily feature will highlight local perspectives on mental wellbeing while reinforcing a shared continental message: mental health matters, it said in a statement shared with Business Post.
Mental health remains a critical but under-addressed issue across Africa. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression affects more than 66 million people in the African Region, while mental health services remain limited in many countries. Young people are particularly affected, facing stigma, lack of awareness, and barriers to accessing support.
AWVI said it aims to address these gaps through a unified, prevention-focused awareness campaign that leverages digital platforms to reach communities across borders. In addition to featured voices, members of the public are encouraged to participate by sharing short wellness videos on social media, fostering grassroots engagement and peer-to-peer support.
Speaking on the initiative, Mr Oyenuga Ridwan, Founder of SereniMind, said: “Across Africa, too many people suffer in silence when it comes to mental health. Africa Wellness Voices Initiative is about unity, bringing together Africans from different countries, ages, and backgrounds to normalize conversations around wellbeing and remind people that seeking support is a strength, not a weakness.”
The February campaign is expected to reach 15–25 African countries, feature 60–120 individuals and organizations, and generate over 500,000 digital impressions across platforms including Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok. The organizers hope to scale the initiative in future editions to include all 54 African countries.
AWVI says it aligns with broader continental and global priorities on health, youth empowerment, and wellbeing, contributing to conversations around preventive mental health, community resilience, and inclusive development.
Through technology, partnerships, and community engagement, SereniMind works to promote wellbeing and reduce stigma around mental health.
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