N’assembly raises health budget by N300bn amid US aid suspension

The national assembly has increased the allocation to the country’s health sector by N300 billion in the 2025 approved budget.

The senate and house of representatives passed the 2025 budget on Thursday after raising it from N54.2 trillion to N54.9 trillion.

In the previously proposed 2025 budget, the federal government allocated N2.48 trillion to the health sector, representing 5.18 percent of the total appropriation.

However, the allocation fell short of the requirement agreed upon in the Abuja declaration for the health sector.

The Abuja declaration of 2001 is a commitment by African Union countries to allocate at least 15 percent of their annual budget to the health sector.

Nigeria has consistently failed to meet the agreed allocation.

The national assembly said the additional funds would support health interventions and address challenges such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and polio, previously financed by the US government foreign aid before its suspension.

“It is to be noted that the recent action by the United States government to suspend further intervention in the Nigerian health sector through the provision of vaccines and drugs for malaria, polio, HIV, and tuberculosis using its agency USAID will have adverse effects on Nigerians affected by such diseases,” Adeola Olamilekan, the chairman of the joint appropriation committee said.

“On this note, the president proactively made a new provision of $200 million, which is equivalent to N300 billion in the service wide votes to fill the gap created by the United States (US) government’s suspension of intervention in the Nigerian health sector to proactively address the above-mentioned health challenges that are currently being suffered by countries like Uganda and others.”

After US President Donald Trump took office, he signed multiple executive orders that ordered a pause on foreign aid, affecting several health initiatives in many countries, including Nigeria.

Nigeria has been heavily reliant on international assistance for HIV initiatives, particularly from the US president’s emergency plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR).

Although PEPFAR was issued a limited waiver a week later, allowing it to restart some services, the situation has remained fluid.

The US government has also placed all staff of the United States International Development Agency (USAID), which implements many of Nigeria’s US health programmes, on administrative leave.