He said health will remain at the heart of legislative priorities while experts, stakeholders push for sustainable financing, climate-resilient healthcare
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has pledged that the 10th National Assembly will prioritise legislative reforms to strengthen Nigeria's health system, support digital innovation, and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare across the country.
Mr Akpabio made the pledge in Abuja on Monday while declaring open the 6th Annual Legislative Summit on Health, themed "Building Responsive, Sustainable Health Systems: Leveraging Legislative Action for Digital Innovation, Human Capital and Infrastructure for Universal Health Coverage."
He was represented by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, at the summit co-hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Environmental Summit Group, and the National Assembly, in partnership with several development organisations.
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In his address, Mr Akpabio described the health of a nation as its truest measure of wealth, stressing that health security must be treated as national security.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of Nigeria's health system but also revealed its resilience through the courage of frontline workers.
He acknowledged ongoing challenges, including inadequate funding, weak infrastructure, brain drain, and lack of reliable data, but maintained that 'despair is not our portion.'
"Across Nigeria, the green shoots of renewal are visible, digital health initiatives, local pharmaceutical industries, and new partnerships between government and the private sector. The task before us now is to gather these efforts into one coherent strategy," he said.
Senate to review, modernise health laws
Mr Akpabio announced that under the 10th National Assembly, health would stand at the centre of legislative priorities, with efforts focused on reviewing and modernising laws to align with global best practices.
"We shall give full life to the National Health Act and ensure that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund reaches every community for which it was conceived," he said.
He also promised legislative support for digital innovation, including telemedicine, electronic records, and the use of artificial intelligence for diagnosis and disease surveillance.
"We must build a digital backbone that connects every primary health centre with every tertiary hospital," he added.
The Senate President called for improved welfare for health workers to curb the migration of medical professionals abroad.
Call for stronger primary health care and financing
During panel discussions at the pre-summit, experts and stakeholders called for improved funding mechanisms, better use of technology, and stronger community ownership to revitalise primary healthcare.
Kabiru Atta, Country Representative of EngenderHealth, said poor understanding of health integration continues to fragment Nigeria's system.
Mr Atta also noted that one of the biggest obstacles to integrating reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health services into routine primary care delivery is a poor understanding of what integration entails.
He added that fragmentation within the health system, where units such as family planning, nutrition, and fistula care operate in isolation, continues to weaken service delivery.
He cited a USAID-supported fistula project that developed a 'fistula tracker' system to monitor women's care from diagnosis to rehabilitation, saying such innovations demonstrate how technology can drive integration.
"At any point, you can tell what service a woman needs and where she should get it. Digital tools like this allow us to follow patients across the continuum of care," he added.
'Budgeting is easy, fund release is the problem'
Chika Offor, Chief Executive Officer, Vaccine Network for Disease Control, decried poor release of approved immunisation funds.
Ms Offor said, "It is easy to budget one trillion naira for vaccines, but how much is released? As of 2024, only 25 per cent was released. In 2025, none has been released so far."
She advocated 'ring-fenced funding' for immunisation, a system where budgeted funds cannot be diverted and called for predictable financing through first-line charges and value-added tax (VAT) allocations.
Financing climate-resilient health systems
At another panel session on climate-resilient health systems, experts urged government and private actors to scale up renewable energy solutions to power health facilities.
Kene Terfa, President of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, said solar energy offers a sustainable solution to Nigeria's power challenges.
Mr Terfa noted that if communities take ownership and contribute one per cent of their resources, it will be possible to solarise primary health centres nationwide.
Similarly, Temitayo Tella-Lah, Programme Manager and Programme Lead, Climate Adaptation in Health, Food Security and Nutrition, eHealth Africa said her organisation's solarisation of 238 PHCs across 12 states showed that advocacy and local ownership are vital for sustainability.
Ms Tella-Lah said, "When communities understand the benefits, they protect the equipment. We even had cases where locals stopped anyone from tampering with installed systems."
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Christopher Ipechika, CEO of Distinct Industrial Concern, stressed the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in maintenance and monitoring.
"From our phones, we can track whether a facility's solar system is working. Training local technicians ensures long-term maintenance," Mr Ipechika noted.
WHO calls for climate financing for health
Francis Ukweji, Senior Technical Lead on Health Financing at WHO, said Nigeria can tap into global climate funds and green bonds to strengthen its health infrastructure.
Mr Ukweji listed several financing mechanisms such as carbon pricing, climate risk insurance, blended financing, and debt-for-climate swaps.
"With the ongoing review of the National Health Act, we can integrate climate financing into the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund and health insurance programmes," he said.
He added that linking performance-based financing with renewable energy adoption could unlock new funding streams for the health sector.
"There's room for private sector and donor collaboration. If we use the right mix of instruments, Nigeria can build a truly climate-resilient health system," he said.
