Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has revealed that it received only ₦36 million out of the ₦218 billion capital appropriation allocated for the 2025 fiscal year, raising serious concerns about stalled health projects and strained partnerships with donors.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, during the ministry’s budget defence before the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services in Abuja, where the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Mohammed Ali Pate, addressed lawmakers on the implementation of the 2025 budget. Pate explained that while the ministry’s personnel costs were fully released and utilised, the capital component, which is meant to fund infrastructure, equipment procurement, and expansion of primary health services received only ₦36 million out of the ₦218 billion appropriated by the National Assembly.
Professor Pate attributed the significant shortfall in capital releases to systemic issues in the federal government’s budget execution processes, including the mechanics of the bottom‑up cash planning system managed by the Office of the Accountant‑General of the Federation. He also said delays in the release of Nigeria’s counterpart funding which is required to unlock donor-supported resources for health programmes had further constrained the ministry’s ability to implement critical capital projects.
The funding gap has had immediate effects on ongoing and planned initiatives across the health sector. According to senior ministry officials, projects intended to rehabilitate hospitals, procure medical devices and diagnostic equipment, and strengthen emergency care and supply chains have been postponed or suspended. Observers noted that rural health facilities, especially in states such as Kano, Rivers, and Kaduna, are likely to experience widened service delivery gaps if capital underfunding persists.
Civil society organisations and health advocacy groups have condemned the near-total non-release of the 2025 capital budget. Representatives of the Health Budget Network and other civil society coalitions warned in Abuja that the situation could erode donor confidence and weaken long-term partnerships with international health funding bodies. They emphasised that delayed capital releases jeopardise strategic initiatives aimed at achieving universal health coverage, modernising health infrastructure, and improving data systems.
“The minimal release of capital funding undermines our ability to deliver essential health services and meet national and global health targets,” said a representative of one advocacy group at a roundtable discussion in Abuja on 12 February 2026. Experts pointed out that donor agencies often require predictable counterpart funding before disbursing grants, meaning that underfunding at the federal level could have ripple effects on financing from external partners such as the World Bank, the Global Fund, and UNICEF.
The underfunding of the health sector in 2025 also spotlights long-standing challenges with budget execution in Nigeria. Over recent years, capital allocations for health have frequently fallen short of actual releases, frustrating efforts by the ministry to implement strategic plans and deliver timely projects.
In response to the crisis, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services called for enhanced transparency and accountability in the budget process, including detailed reporting on releases and utilisation of both domestic and donor funds. Lawmakers emphasised that improved monitoring and enhanced coordination with the Ministries of Finance and Budget and Economic Planning would be necessary to address the recurrent funding gaps.
The situation has renewed calls from stakeholders for the federal government to prioritise health financing, increase domestic allocations, and ensure that appropriated budgets translate into actual expenditures that can strengthen the health system and improve outcomes for Nigerians across all states.
