Lagos Faces Shortage of 40,000 Doctors, N100bn Health Funding Gap, Says Sanwo-Olu
- Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu revealed the state has only 7,000 doctors against a need for roughly 47,000
- Sanwo-Olu warned that donor funding for disease control is shrinking and will not return to its previous levels
- Over 1.5 million residents have enrolled in the Ilera Eko health insurance scheme, with utilisation rising
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Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has warned that the state is short of about 40,000 doctors and an equal number of nurses, and that its health budget falls at least N100 billion short of what the sector needs to properly serve its population.
Sanwo-Olu made the disclosure on Thursday at the opening of the second Eko Health Convention, held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Source: Twitter
According to PUNCH, he described the twin problems of workforce shortage and insufficient funding as the most pressing threats to healthcare in the state.
"Lagos needs about 40,000 doctors to serve this population properly. We have about 7,000. We need roughly 40,000 more nurses. Every doctor in Lagos today is, in effect, doing the work of 10," the governor said.
He also cautioned that international donor support, which had underpinned much of the state's disease control work for two decades, was contracting and was unlikely to return in its previous form.
Lagos Responds With Recruitment and Insurance Expansion
Despite the scale of the challenge, Sanwo-Olu said the government had taken concrete steps to address the deficit. These include aggressive recruitment across all 29 secondary healthcare facilities, the construction of accommodation for health workers, and plans to establish a University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
On health coverage, the governor said more than 1.5 million residents were now enrolled in Ilera Eko, the state's compulsory social health insurance scheme. He gave the figure as 1,502,994 as at the end of May 2026, noting that more than half of those enrolled are women. He added that rising utilisation rates showed that coverage was translating into actual medical care.
The Lagos State Health Management Agency's Assistance in Distress programme, which became operational in March 2026, has saved 18 lives since its launch, covering cases ranging from road traffic injuries to obstetric emergencies and strokes.
Digital Tools to Strengthen Health Delivery
Sanwo-Olu said the government was also rolling out the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform across public health institutions. The system will allow patient records to be accessed across different facilities, improve disease surveillance, and support planning decisions. The state is also investing in artificial intelligence and digital tools to strengthen diagnostics and medical imaging.
The governor closed his remarks by stressing that his administration's focus was on building systems that would outlast his tenure.
"We have kept our promises. Now we are building the systems that will keep them long after us," he said.
Source: Getty Images
Nigerian doctors urge government to end strike
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) called on the Federal Government to immediately conclude a long-delayed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) as its indefinite strike entered its 17th day on November 17.
The union also demanded a review of the outdated Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS). Reports indicated that the strike, which began earlier this month, had disrupted medical services in 91 hospitals nationwide. These included federal teaching hospitals, specialist institutions, and federal medical centres. Patients across the country were said to have been affected by the ongoing industrial action.
Source: Legit.ng
