Lagos targets N100bn health funding gap through mandatory insurance

The Lagos State Ministry of Health on Tuesday said it would rely on mandatory health insurance and stronger public-private partnerships to bridge an estimated N100 billion healthcare funding gap and improve access to quality medical services across the state.

Speaking during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos, Akin Abayomi, the commissioner for Health, said the state government was accelerating reforms aimed at expanding health insurance coverage, strengthening healthcare infrastructure and reversing outbound medical tourism.

According to Abayomi, Lagos currently spends only about eight per cent of its budget on healthcare, below the 15 percent benchmark recommended under the Abuja Declaration, making alternative financing mechanisms necessary.

“There is a gap between what is available to us through our budget and what we ideally want to spend. There is a gap of at least N100 billion between what we get and what we want,” he said.

The Commissioner explained that declining donor support, population growth and rising healthcare demands in Africa’s largest city had increased pressure on the state’s healthcare system.

He said the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu was now focusing on health insurance and private sector collaboration as key tools for sustainable healthcare financing.

“The answer for us really is two things; health insurance and public-private partnership. This is where we are focused at the moment in Lagos State,” Abayomi said.

He disclosed that Governor Sanwo-Olu had already signed an Executive Order domesticating the National Health Insurance Authority Act, making health insurance compulsory for all Lagos residents.

Abayomi added that Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state had started implementing enforcement measures requiring residents seeking government services to present evidence of valid health insurance coverage.

The commissioner said the policy would help build a sustainable financing pool to improve healthcare facilities, strengthen infrastructure and support vulnerable residents through equity-based funding.

He revealed that more than 1.46 million residents had already enrolled under the state’s Ilera-Eko health insurance scheme but admitted that Lagos remained far from achieving universal health coverage.

Abayomi described Nigeria’s current healthcare financing structure as unsustainable, noting that about 77 percent of healthcare spending still comes directly from citizens’ pockets while only two per cent is funded through insurance.

He also unveiled Lagos’ long-term ambition to become one of Africa’s top three medical destinations within the next decade under the state’s 2052 Development Plan.

“We do not want Lagosians travelling abroad to seek healthcare in Dubai, London, India or South Africa. We want to provide every specialty and subspecialty needed right here in Lagos,” he said.

The Commissioner said the state was also working to regulate and integrate informal healthcare providers, including patent medicine vendors, community pharmacies and traditional medicine practitioners, into the wider healthcare system.

According to him, more than 3,500 registered private health facilities currently operate in Lagos alongside numerous informal providers who serve as first points of care for many residents.

Abayomi further announced government approval for a standalone University of Medicine and Health Sciences aimed at increasing the production of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.

He said the proposed institution would decentralise clinical training and also leverage diaspora specialists and private health facilities to address manpower shortages caused by migration of healthcare workers.

On healthcare regulation, Kemi Ogunyemi, the special adviser to the governor on Health, said the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency remained central to patient safety and healthcare quality enforcement across the state.

Ogunyemi noted that Lagos was the first state in Nigeria to establish a dedicated agency for healthcare facility regulation, adding that other states and the Federal Government were studying the Lagos model.

She warned residents against using unaccredited hospitals and medical facilities.

“If you do not see the HEFAMAA accreditation sign in a facility, please do not use that facility,” she said.

In his closing remarks, Dayo Lajide, the permanent secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, commended healthcare workers across the state for maintaining service delivery despite growing pressure on the healthcare system.