Abuja: Some stakeholders in the health sector have urged political leaders to treat investment in healthcare as a political and economic priority. They made the call at a high-level breakfast meeting, convened by Nigeria Health Watch on Tuesday, to drive accountability and citizen engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections. The meeting had the theme, ‘Health as a Political Issue: Driving Accountability and Citizen Engagement Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections’. It brought together political leaders, policymakers, civil society organisations, private sector stakeholders and the media.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the stakeholders said political leaders must move beyond broad promises of free healthcare. They called on the leaders to identify specific interventions that would improve access to essential services, protect Nigerians from catastrophic health spending, and strengthen the quality of care. One of them, the Chief Executive Officer of DGI Consult, Dr Gafar Alawode, said access to basic heal
thcare remained a major challenge, particularly for women and children requiring antenatal care, safe delivery and immunisation services.
Alawode highlighted the need for financial protection, access to health insurance, and improved quality of care. He emphasized that health reforms should be treated as a political process, especially during election periods. According to him, this process allows citizens and stakeholders to influence the priorities political parties place before the electorate. He noted that previous efforts to engage political parties on health priorities had yielded some gains, with parts of a citizen-led health agenda reflected in political manifestos.
Dr Murtala Bagana, Commissioner for Health in Niger, said politicians needed to understand health as a political dividend rather than merely another sector requiring public expenditure. Bagana pointed out that investment decisions must be evidence-based, with better data on returns from health interventions like immunisation and maternal
care. He emphasized the need to shift focus from constructing new health facilities to ensuring existing facilities are adequately equipped and capable of delivering a full range of services.
Vivianne Ihekweazu, Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, stated that the approach to the 2027 elections provided citizens with an opportunity to demand clear plans from political aspirants on improving healthcare. She urged citizens to ask political leaders how they intend to improve primary healthcare, make medicines more affordable, and ensure health facilities have adequate workers.
The meeting also saw the unveiling of the third edition of the ‘Vote4Health Naija’ campaign and the Health Manifesto Tracking and Accountability Tool to monitor political commitments on health ahead of and after the 2027 general elections.