How to keep Nigeria’s health billions at home

The growing contribution of health-related travel to Africa’s airline industry, coupled with the relentless outflow of funds for overseas medical treatments, has reignited expert discussions about how Nigeria can retain its substantial healthcare spending within its borders.

Health system development experts are concerned that Nigeria, despite its significant market demand for healthcare services, has failed to invest sufficiently to capitalise on medical tourism.

Khama Rogo, former lead, World Bank Health in Africa Initiative, said the foreign healthcare needs of West Africans drive about 25 percent of two major African businesses: Kenya Airways and Ethiopia Airlines.

This indicates that a lot of money is being pushed out of a system that needs the same funding to thrive.

“…overnight at the airport in Addis Ababa or Nairobi, you will see West Africans who are on wheelchairs. And when we say West Africans, that means Nigerians. They are going for care and coming back here. It is 25 percent of the airline business for those two airlines. That is real money,” Rogo said, speaking at the 2025 annual conference of the Health Federation of Nigeria.

“So, when they tell me Nigeria cannot meet Abuja budget, then I asked myself, how come that money is only available when individuals travel, but is never available when you want to treat the masses?”

To improve Nigeria’s attraction as a medical tourist destination, Rogo suggests a strong partnership between the private and public health sectors in governance, financing and human resource production and utilization.

In financing, Rogo believes there needs to be an improved outlook of the business of healthcare by banks as “you have less default when you lend to the health sector”.

For patients in many African countries, medical tourism provides access to treatments that are both more affordable and of superior quality compared to what is available domestically.

South Africa, Tunisia, and Morocco are attracting global attention by implementing robust national strategies, including public-private partnerships, tax-investment incentives, and targeted marketing campaigns.

A US Chamber of Commerce report on African medical tourism highlights that successful strategies commonly include comprehensive packages featuring assistance with medical visas, airport meet-and-greets, private nurses, pre- and post-surgery hospital accommodations, and even luxury safaris after treatment.

These markets features are also complemented by good climates, exotic tourist locations, and highly certified medical practitioners and facilities.

The chamber notes that South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia have committed to necessary infrastructure development and have secured private capital to finance projects aimed to propel their countries as top medical tourist destinations.

Abdu Mukthar, national coordinator of the Presidential Unlocking Healthcare Value Chain Initiative, said the government plans to execute more programmes this year to plug the gaps in the health sector.

He said there are clear goals for healthcare financing in the national budget likely to be signed this week by the president, providing access, quality and ensuring sustainable pathways to funding.

Mukthar noted that outcomes aimed to achieve include improvement in mortality and morbidity rates, drop in out-of-pocket expenditure by patients and reduction in difference in health outcomes between different income quartiles.

Through the initiative, financing was drawn from the European Investment Bank (1 billion Euro), Afreximbank ($1bn) and DFIs, including BOI and MoFI, with advanced discussion for dedicated financing platforms.

Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Health Commissioner representing the Governor, emphasized the crucial role of healthcare financing, stating that increased government or corporate health spending directly correlates with improved disease outcomes, longer life expectancy, higher standards of living, and expanded GDP.

“It is logical…Governments, entities and individuals need to spend money to get healthy. It has to come from intentional policies of government and private sector partners to provide the necessary components for healthy community outcomes,” Abayomi said.

Pamela Ajayi, HFN President, said Nigeria must prioritise building its robust healthcare industry and actively purchase and promote locally-made drugs, consumables, and medical equipment.

She noted that the group has spent 10 years advocating for health development and has influenced policies to ease the operating environment for players.

“Over the past few years, several centres of excellence have been established, offering world-class medical services in specialties such as cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, and fertility treatments. We are now witnessing a remarkable shift-patients from other African countries and even beyond are coming to Nigeria for specialised surgeries and treatments. This is a testament to the growing confidence in our healthcare system. We must continue to promote and invest in our healthcare institutions, ensuring that Nigeria becomes the preferred destination for high-quality medical care in Africa,” Ajayi said.