Nigeria has recorded a historic breakthrough in advanced medical care with the successful performance of West Africa’s first robotic gynaecological surgery, a feat that places the country firmly on the map of high-precision, minimally invasive medicine and signals a transformative moment for women’s healthcare in the sub-region.
The landmark procedure was carried out on Sunday at The Prostate Clinic (TPC), Lagos, by a multidisciplinary team of Nigerian-based and international specialists. Medical experts describe the achievement as both a clinical triumph and a strategic leap—one that extends cutting-edge surgical innovation beyond its earlier focus on male urological conditions to address the long-neglected complexities of women’s reproductive health.
At the centre of the breakthrough is Prof. Kingsley Ekwueme, Consultant Robotic Surgeon and Medical Director of TPC, whose facility introduced West Africa’s first surgical robot last year. Speaking after the procedure, Ekwueme said the decision to expand robotic surgery to gynaecology was deliberate and overdue.
“Following our tradition of leading innovation in Nigeria and West Africa, we introduced the first surgical robot in the sub-region last year,” he said. “After focusing on men’s health and male-specific conditions, we are now transitioning fully into women’s surgeries. Today, we are proud to say that we have performed the first robotic gynaecological surgery in West Africa.”
The patient, a young woman diagnosed with a painful ovarian tumour, had endured months of discomfort that disrupted her daily life and productivity. Using robotic-assisted technology, the surgical team successfully removed two large tumours with exceptional precision.
“This young woman has an ovarian tumour that caused pain, discomfort, and inability to live a normal life,” Ekwueme explained. “With robotic surgery, we removed the tumours. She will go home today and return to work tomorrow.”
Robotic gynaecological surgery represents a radical departure from traditional open procedures that have long defined surgical care in Nigeria. Open surgery typically involves large incisions, significant blood loss, prolonged hospitalisation, and extended recovery periods that may keep patients away from work and family responsibilities for weeks or even months.
By contrast, robotic surgery allows surgeons to operate through tiny incisions using robotic arms controlled from a console that provides magnified, three-dimensional visualisation and unmatched dexterity. The result is greater surgical accuracy, minimal trauma to surrounding tissues, and significantly faster recovery.
“What people are used to is open surgery, where a patient may stay in hospital before surgery, spend five to seven days after surgery, and then require weeks of recovery at home,” Ekwueme said. “With robotic surgery, once vital signs are stable, within six hours the patient can eat and go home. Within 24 hours, she can return to normal daily activities.” He described the procedure as a “game-changer” for women suffering from gynaecological conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian tumours, uterine cancer, and selected cases of ectopic pregnancy.
Ekwueme stressed that the true value of robotic surgery cannot be measured solely in financial terms. While the technology is capital-intensive, he argued that the broader economic and social benefits far outweigh the costs. “Our people tend to quantify cost only in naira and kobo,” he said. “But the unquantified cost of illness is much more complex. If a woman undergoes open surgery and is away from work for six months, that is six months of lost productivity. With robotic surgery, she can return to work almost immediately. In real terms, society gains months of productivity for a fraction of the cost.”
He disclosed that the surgery was performed at no cost to the patient as part of TPC’s corporate social responsibility initiative, noting that prolonged illness and loss of productivity impose a far heavier burden on families, employers, and the economy than the price of advanced surgical care.
A key member of the surgical team, Prof. Yusuf Oshodi, Consultant Gynaecologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), said the patient was carefully assessed and found suitable for robotic-assisted surgery. “She is a 30-year-old woman who still intends to have children,” Oshodi said. “The tumour is benign, and the precision of robotic surgery allows us to remove only the affected tissue without compromising her fertility or damaging adjacent structures.”
According to Oshodi, this level of precision is critical in gynaecological surgery, where damage to surrounding organs can have lifelong consequences. “Many Nigerian women suffer silently from fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian tumours, and abnormal menstrual bleeding,” he said. “Fibroids are particularly common—affecting up to 70 per cent of women in some communities—although only about 10 to 20 per cent develop significant symptoms.”
He noted that delayed presentation often leads to complications such as severe anaemia, which can impair heart function and overall health. “Robotic and minimally invasive surgery offers us the opportunity to intervene early, treat precisely, preserve reproductive capacity, and allow women to return quickly to their normal lives,” he added.
Another member of the team, Olaolu Aladade, a UK-based Consultant Gynaecologist with expertise in oncology and minimally invasive surgery, said the benefits of robotic surgery over open procedures are overwhelming. “With open surgery, you have more complications, longer recovery times, and potential reproductive issues,” he said. “With robotic surgery, patients recover faster, spend fewer days in hospital, return to work sooner, and experience better psychological outcomes. In advanced health systems, this is already standard practice. Seeing it firmly established in Nigeria is deeply encouraging.”
Beyond the immediate clinical success, the breakthrough carries wider implications for Nigeria’s healthcare system. Ekwueme disclosed that TPC has partnered with the Imo State Government to establish Nigeria’s first dedicated robotic surgery centre, currently under construction.
The initiative, he said, is designed to drive innovation, research, and training, while reducing the country’s heavy reliance on overseas medical care. “This revolution has just started,” Ekwueme said. “When governments have the vision and will to form these kinds of partnerships, citizens benefit. It will drive innovation, create research opportunities, and help stem brain drain.”
He urged Nigerian women to take symptoms seriously and seek early medical attention. “If you have persistent pain or abnormal bleeding, don’t ignore it. A simple examination or ultrasound can save your life. Early detection allows us to treat problems before they become dangerous.”
Health analysts say the successful robotic gynaecological surgery is both a clinical milestone and a powerful statement of possibility. It affirms the competence of Nigerian doctors, validates years of training and investment, and challenges the assumption that world-class care must be sought abroad. For women across Nigeria and the wider sub-region, West Africa’s first robotic gynaecological surgery represents a glimpse of a future in which advanced care is accessible at home, delivered by Nigerian hands, and defined by dignity, precision and hope.
Across Nigeria, there are thousands of unmet family planning needs, many of which are in rural and hard-to-reach communities. To bridge this gap, the Society for Family Health (SFH) initiated the IntegratE project which empowered Community Health Extension Workers and Community Pharmacists to provide simple family planning services in underserved areas. SEUN AKIOYE met with some of them in Kano state.
Every morning in the past two years, Shamsudeen Abdulahi Muhammad never failed to open the doors of his modest ‘3 Star pharmacy’, located at the entrance of Koforo Walamai community in the Eastern Bypass area of Kano state. As the only registered community pharmacist also licensed to provide quality family planning services, women who are shy to approach the general hospital walk in for various services.
Some tired of their poverty and inability to cater for their children want a break from childbearing and some like Fatimah-not real name- want to terminate the 11th pregnancy after 10 children.
Shamsudeen Muhammad struggles with poverty and ignorace of community members
“I have seen a lot,” Shamshudeen said as he rested his elbows on the long table that separated him from his customers. “Many women come here begging for a family planning method. There was a woman with 10 children begging for a termination, she is so poor the children do not attend school, when people like that come in, I usually say no and counsel them,” he said.
Since his graduation from school, Shamsudeen only wanted to serve his community, with his skills and education. “This is my community, they are my people, and I want to help them,” he said. But he had not anticipated the gravity of the help his community needed and his own capacity to meet it.
“There is widespread poverty among the people,” he began waving his arm in a semi-circle. “You will see a woman come here wanting to abort a pregnancy because they have unplanned pregnancy, another one would come with 10 children, they are not even thinking of hospital bills but food to eat,” he stated.
In Koforo Walawai, poverty walks on all fours and so is ignorance. One of the underserved communities in Kano state, women shy away from accessing family planning at designated hospitals for varying reasons. “People come to us because we provide what they can’t get elsewhere and that is interpersonal service. We are the first layer of contact with the community, and they know and trust us,” Shamsudeen said in a firm and confident voice.
But how did Muhammad and others across 11 states in Nigeria become primary providers of family planning in poor communities. The answer began with Integrat E, a proof-of-concept project supported by the Gates Foundation that asserts that Provision and Patient Medicine store Vendors (PPMVs) and Community Pharmacists (CPs) can provide more services than they are currently approved to do, if they are trained and licensed thereby bridging a critical health gaps in rural communities and hard-to reach areas.
Bridging the Gap: Integrating Community Care to Meet Family Planning Needs
In 2017, a consortium of health organisations led by the Society for Family Health (SFH) began to tinker on an innovative method that would see an upscale in meeting family planning demands of poor, unreached and excluded women in rural communities. The project that was born was the Integrat E model.
Working with the Federal Ministry of Health, it seeks to broaden the task-sharing, task-shifting policy through a tiered accreditation which would be led by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, (PCN). The pilot phase was a research to prove that if trained, Community Pharmacists and Patient and Propriety Medicines Vendors (PPMVs) can provide the much needed access to family planning.
This logic, according to Danjuma Sani, the Director, Pharmaceutical Services, Kano State Private Health Management Agency is because the PPMVs are closest to the communities. “They are rooted in the community, they are the first point of call,” Sani said.
Sani, we have registered more than 8,000 PPMVs
The follow-up project tagged Integrate E 2.0, building on the evidence began aggressive training and Tiered Accreditation System (TAS) which divided the PPMVs into three tiers: Tier One include secondary school graduates who have a patent medicine store but no healthcare training; Tier Two covers those with some healthcare training like nurses and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW) and Tier Three are the pharmacy technicians who have had extensive healthcare training.
Since 2021 when Integrat E 2.0 began, the project has extended to 11 states including, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Sokoto, Enugu, Nasarawa, Niger, Gombe, Yobe, Borno and Bauchi. By the end of the project, it aims to see an increase in women and communities’ use of an expanded range of quality family planning services through the PPMVs and CPs.
Integrat E, The Kano Model
Bahija Tijjani, Community People trusts us more
“One of the reasons we are so important is because people don’t want to go to hospitals because of the stigma,” Bahija Tijjani Mahmud was saying. It was early in the morning, and she had just attended to her first client. In the Sharada Area of Kano, where the Double T.T Medicine store is located, Bahija is a legend.
For six years, she had been a nurse in Sharada, attending to women and meeting their very private needs, and then two years ago, she was trained by the SFH and incorporated into the Integrat E project as a Tier 2 provider. She began providing simple services like pills and injectables, then she was trained to provide counselling, since then she has provided over 200 family planning services to grateful women in the community.
“90 percent of the women who come here are for family planning and one of the key things I do is to counsel them. There is so much poverty, but people are still having unplanned pregnancies, so it is my duty to help them make better choices,” she said.
Bahija believes access for women is crucial and the privacy the PPMV provides is a jinx breaker in the community. While there are challenges with finance, the real problem with low uptake is the stigma. “The stigma is real,” she said in a matter-of-fact manner.
The women who come to Bahija’s Double T.T store did not see themselves as patients or clients, Bahija is their sister, the one they could confide in. “Our people love PPMVs more than the hospitals because we are closer to them and there is privacy. They feel free to discuss anything with us and even husbands feel safer accompanying the wife here than the hospital,” she said.
Bahija in front of Double TT store
But with a combination of advocacy and counselling, stigma rates are beginning to fall in Sharada. “Before now, it was 90 percent, but it has come down, even rural people now understand what family planning is and the men have also accepted it and we have less resistance than before,” Bahija revealed.
Now, when women come to the Double T.T medicine store, it is not just for consultation, they might be there to offer their gratitude in kind. “Our community people do return to appreciate me for the work I am doing, sometimes they bring gifts, foodstuff etc,” Bahija confirmed.
Several miles away from Sharada, in the sleepy community of Kofar Ruwa, Hassan Muhammad operates a small medicine store. From outside, it looked like a regular store selling daily needs but, in the community, the demand for Muhammad’s services is high.
Hassan prepares to attend to a client at Kofar Ruwa
“I have been here for 13 years,” he began to say in smattering English. Outside, small cries of babies, suffering in the afternoon heat and the voice of the muezzin cuts across the stillness of the day. “Before I started this business, there were no patent medicine stores here and the people were complaining,” he said.
So, with only the senior secondary school certificate, he began to learn about patent medicine and became the community’s sole ‘saviour’. Then he was brought into the Integrate E project, trained to administer family planning services, counselling and referrals. That was four years ago.
“The programme has been a big blessing to this community,” Muhammad said with a smile of satisfaction. “I have seen between 400 to 500 people and provided family planning services to both male and female clients.”
Though it may sound incredible, but Muhammad brought his record out to show the numbers. He has meticulously recorded every transaction he had with every client and what services he provided. One of the keys to his success is a massive advocacy programme in the community, done with the assistance of SFH. “People look forward to these outreaches, you may think they don’t have a problem until they show up for the community mobilisation,” he said.
Some of the major success stories of the IntegratE project are in Kano. Across the 44 local government areas, PPMVs and community pharmacists are filling unmet family planning service’s needs. According to Danjuma Sani, whose office registers, monitors and regulates the PPMVs, Kano has registered more than 8,000 PPMVs while a new survey is underway to verify how many more are there in Kano. “The Tier 1 practitioners were a menace to the society, they are not trained, they have no experience, but the people prefer them because they are cheaper and closer to them. That is why we have to register them and ensure they go through the training from the partners,” Sani said.
But Sani was also quick to recognize their importance. “With the way the economy has been for some years, many people are turning to family planning and that is where the PPMVs come in, they provide important service for the community.”
Zainab
Zainab Abdulsallam, the State technical Advisor, IntegratE project at the SFH agreed with Sani. In the last five years, she has worked with hundreds of volunteers across the state for training and advocacy. “From our findings, 70 percent of people in the communities say the PPMVs are their first point of call for family planning services. So, these people are providing these services and we don’t know if they are qualified, that is why this project is important,” Zainab said.
The idea behind Integrat E is novel; pilot new approaches to provide primary health care services in communities and increase compliance, regulations and quality among the people providing these services. But there is always the link between the PPMVs and government hospitals.
“We want the PPMVs to also refer patients to the hospitals, we want to strengthen the linkage between public and private health facilities. We have trained them and they are registered with the government and providing quality service in the community, so we want them to report their data,” Zainab clarified.
Mustapha Ibrahim Usman is Deputy Director, Pharmaceutical Services at Kano state Ministry of Health, he said the government will continue to work with the PPMVs and provide strict regulations.
Usman, Government wont hesitate to apply sanctions at infractions
“The programme is good; we are able to know the people operating the PPMVs and regulate them. We have told them to operate within their boundaries, and the government will not hesitate to apply the law when there are infractions,” he said.
While Women Plan, Men Offer Support
Nothing prepares you for the revelation 50-year-old Abubakar Aliyu was about to make. With a University Degree under his belt, a master’s degree underway, he also served as the Chief Imam of Ali Maifada mosque in Gama community.
Aliyu, Chief Imam at Ali Maifada Mosque
“People are always shocked when I tell them my qualifications,” Aliyu said. He was sitting in the middle of the mosque in Gama B ward. The Gama community in Nasarawa Local government of Kano boasts of nearly two million residents. It is the largest ward and a ‘darling’ in the state, attracting different ethnic groups and investments.
In Gama B, the Maifada Mosque is unique and known for its very progressive preaching and initiatives, the men of Gama B would congregate every evening to learn about new initiatives and whatever decision made by this assembly of men would be binding.
“Family planning is not new to us here, in fact, we do have lectures here twice a week where we encourage our men to accept family planning and we also talk about men’s health and our role in the community,” Aliyu said.
He is also a role model, married with one wife and 9 children, who are all educated, he said he has accepted family planning for a long time. “Though culture has been a barrier to many of our men accepting this, the economy has a way of deciding for you, so the men have now seen the need to embrace child-spacing,” he said.
When IntegratE project landed in the community, one aspect that resonated with the community was the male involvement meetings. Zainab, the State Advisor for the project said that aspect was built into the programme to get the buy-in of the men as head of the households.
“Male involvement came about as evidence mounts that the husbands must be involved. There are compound or town hall meetings that were done with the men, the aim is to sensitize them to know the advantages of child-spacing and support their wives in making the decision to take up a method,” she explained.
But the programme faced initial problems, cynical men clutching to the strings of culture and religion dismissed the programme and refused to allow their wives participate. “Some men were even abusing me as an Imam supporting child-spacing,” Aliyu confirmed.
But with over two years of engagement, the men of the Gama community have a new mindset. Aliyu Adamu Maifada, who has three wives and eight children said there is no more conflict with the men of Gama. “I have accepted this family planning for the health of the mothers and the health of the children,” he said.
Maifada is now a peer-educator and has converted a lot of men in the community. “As a community leader, people listen to me and they see that I practiced what I am preaching, so that is how we succeeded in converting many men,” Maifada revealed.
One of the keys to the successful mobilization and awareness is the work of the Interpersonal Communication Agents (IPCA) who have been recruited to move from house to house sharing information and creating awareness.
“We were well received in many of the homes, even when some people reject us, we will return there with more information and they will welcome us,” Amina Nasiru Usman said. She had been one of the first agents in Gama and much of the success in that community could be attributed to her relentless work.
Amina and community volunteers in Gama B
Today, she sat quietly in a corner at the mosque, after a mid-day meeting with a group of women who also acted as peer-educators. “This is the way it works,” she stated in a conspiratory tone. We go inside the homes to talk to the wives, many times, they would insist they needed their husband’s approval for family planning. By that time, the Imam is also talking to the husbands and so when the women seek permission, it would be easy.”
This is a masterstroke strategy employed by Integrat E project to increase access to family planning for women across Nigeria. “No project has done what we did with the PPMVs,” Zainab boasted as she sat down to an interview.
“Imagine all the small patent medicine stores are now registered with the government, you are known and monitored. Then they are trained to provide the primary level of care and in a community where trust is important, these people come in as supervised and trained hands,” she further confirmed.
In Kano, the Integrat E 2.0 has recorded some modest successes in ways and outstanding successes in others. Currently, the project has trained 832 PPMVs across the 43 local government areas, with another 100 trained in November while it targets training for 900 community pharmacists. The PPMVs and community pharmacists undergo intensive training at the School of Health Sciences for 15 days after which they would be recommended to the state government.
In September 2026 IntegratE, 2.0 will shut down. At that time, Zainab will not only be counting the numbers of trained PPMVs, but she would be hoping that a handshake of data has crossed from the private to the public sector. Mustapha Usman would be hoping that his Ministry would have utilized and profited from the data being volunteered by the PPMVs while also hoping the project has empowered enough vendors to improve the state’s health indices.
Sani would hope that he has been able to regulate more vendors who otherwise would have been operating under the regulator’s radar without the project. And Muhammad would still battle misconception among the Koforo Walawai people, he would battle poverty and ignorance and though he makes very little by providing life saving services, he would remain in his post. “I cannot leave these people,” he said, after attending to a patient who could not afford to buy a painkiller, “I am the only one they have, I am their only hope, for now.”
The Federal government has urged the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to call off its over two-month-old indefinite strike and allow negotiations to continue in the interest of the health sector and the Nigerian public.
This is as the government refuted some of the claims by JOHESU, while emphasising that when its sustained engagements with the union are contextualised against the ultimatum issued by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), there is a clear mismatch.
The Nation reports that the two unions warned that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would bear full responsibility for any disruption arising from its failure to act within the ultimatum period.
However, in response to the two unions’ two-week ultimatum, the government, in a statement on Saturday by Alaba Balogun, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry, reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to sustaining industrial harmony in Nigeria’s health sector, while clarifying the issues at stake.
“This is further to JOHESU’s earlier ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, demanding an adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) in the same manner as was implemented for the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), which culminated in the ongoing strike action by JOHESU, which commenced on 14 November 2025.
“In its recent statement, the labour centres alleged that the Ministry deliberately refused to implement the report of the Technical Committee on the adjustment of CONHESS submitted in 2021.
“They further alleged that the delay amounts to institutional disrespect to health workers and organised labour and consequently issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government through the Ministry,” the government said.
Responding to the allegations, the government said it has remained responsive to the concerns of health workers in a manner that ensures uninterrupted healthcare delivery, promotes equity and teamwork across professional cadres, and sustains industrial harmony for the long-term good of the country.
“There is absolutely no truth in the allegations of deliberate refusal to implement the Technical Committee’s report, nor is there any discrimination against any category of health workers,” the government emphasised.
Countering the union’s claims, the Ministry affirmed that “Contrary to these claims, the Federal Government has, since the commencement of the industrial action, held several conciliatory meetings with JOHESU, both at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, aimed at resolving the dispute amicably.
“These meetings are being held despite the action of JOHESU in approaching the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to intervene in the dispute.
“Notably, a high-level conciliatory meeting convened on Thursday 15 January 2026, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, formed part of sustained efforts by the Federal Government to de-escalate tensions and arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
“The Ministry states unequivocally that it reached a tentative understanding with JOHESU on a framework for resolving the lingering trade dispute, at the meeting held on 15 January 2026”.
For emphasis, the Ministry presented a factual account of the meeting between it and JOHESU, noting, “At the meeting, JOHESU presented proposals which included the implementation of the 2021 report of the Technical Sub-Committee of the High-Level Body (HLB) chaired by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which recommended an adjustment of CONHESS.
“The unions also called for the immediate withdrawal of the “No Work, No Pay” circular, insisting that it should not apply to their members, in line with the position earlier canvassed by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), among other demands”.
Consequently, the Ministry said it had appealed to JOHESU to maintain the status quo while the NSIWC concludes its ongoing job evaluation exercise, which is aimed at determining the appropriate placement of all health professionals in line with the Ministry’s commitment to collective bargaining and evidence-based decision-making.
“In reaching the decision of maintaining the status quo pending the completion of the job evaluation, the ministry took into cognizance the conflicting positions of the union/association in the sector based on the MOUs/agreements signed with the federal government in the past.
“The job evaluation exercise, which commenced in November 2025, is expected to last six months and will pave the way for discussions on salary adjustments as well as the reconvening of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA),” the statement added.
On the issue of “No Work, No Pay”, the Ministry emphasizes that its position is that if JOHESU calls off the strike in good faith, the matter would be handled administratively in its entirety.
“To further demonstrate its commitment to industrial harmony, the Ministry affirmed its willingness to accommodate the NLC and TUC in subsequent engagements and raised no objection to their continued participation in the dialogue process.
“Since the meeting of 15 January 2026 the ministry held two other meetings on 20th and 22nd January 2026 to conclude on issues agreed on at the meeting of 15th January 2026 with a view for JOHESU to call off the ongoing strike action.
“Against this backdrop, the Ministry notes that when these sustained engagements are contextualised against the ultimatum issued by the NLC and TUC, there is a clear mismatch,” it noted.
Calling for the understanding of the health workers, their unions and the public, the government noted, “It is important to state that the demand by JOHESU for CONHESS adjustment has been longstanding for over a decade with previous federal governments unable to resolve it.
“Recognising the critical role of healthcare workers in national development and public welfare, the current Federal Government is determined to resolve the issues in a manner that safeguards uninterrupted healthcare delivery, promotes team spirit and equity across professional cadres, and reinforces industrial harmony for the long-term good of the country”.
Emphasising that it remains resolutely committed to achieving sustainable industrial peace in the health sector, it said, “The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare assures that the Federal Government of Nigeria remains steadfast in its commitment to finding an enduring and sustainable resolution to the dispute in the overall interest of the nation guided by dialogue, fairness, and mutual respect”
While extending its deep appreciation to other health professionals who are still at work, saving lives, the government affirmed, “We will continue all efforts to ensure that Federal Hospitals remain open”.
The Federal government has urged the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to call off its over two-month-old indefinite strike and allow negotiations to continue in the interest of the health sector and the Nigerian public.
It also refuted some of the claims by JOHESU, while emphasising that when its sustained engagements with the union are contextualised against the ultimatum by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), there is a clear mismatch.
The Nation reports the two unions warned that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would bear full responsibility for any disruption arising from its failure to act within the ultimatum period.
However, in response to the two unions’ two-week ultimatum, the government, in a statement on Saturday by Alaba Balogun, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry, reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to sustaining industrial harmony in Nigeria’s health sector, while clarifying the issues at stake.
“This is further to JOHESU’s earlier ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, demanding an adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) in the same manner as was implemented for the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), which culminated in the ongoing strike action by JOHESU, which commenced on 14 November 2025.
“In its recent statement, the labour centres alleged that the Ministry deliberately refused to implement the report of the Technical Committee on the adjustment of CONHESS submitted in 2021.
“They further alleged that the delay amounts to institutional disrespect to health workers and organised labour and consequently issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government through the Ministry,” the government said.
Responding to the allegations, the government said it has remained responsive to the concerns of health workers in a manner that ensures uninterrupted healthcare delivery, promotes equity and teamwork across professional cadres, and sustains industrial harmony for the long-term good of the country.
“There is absolutely no truth in the allegations of deliberate refusal to implement the Technical Committee’s report, nor is there any discrimination against any category of health workers,” the government emphasised.
Countering the union’s claims, the Ministry affirmed that “Contrary to these claims, the Federal Government has, since the commencement of the industrial action, held several conciliatory meetings with JOHESU, both at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, aimed at resolving the dispute amicably.
“These meetings are being held despite the action of JOHESU in approaching the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to intervene in the dispute.
“Notably, a high-level conciliatory meeting convened on Thursday 15 January 2026, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, formed part of sustained efforts by the Federal Government to de-escalate tensions and arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
“The Ministry states unequivocally that it reached a tentative understanding with JOHESU on a framework for resolving the lingering trade dispute, at the meeting held on 15 January 2026”.
For emphasis, the Ministry presented a factual account of the meeting between it and JOHESU, noting, “At the meeting, JOHESU presented proposals which included the implementation of the 2021 report of the Technical Sub-Committee of the High-Level Body (HLB) chaired by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which recommended an adjustment of CONHESS.
“The unions also called for the immediate withdrawal of the “No Work, No Pay” circular, insisting that it should not apply to their members, in line with the position earlier canvassed by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), among other demands”.
Consequently, the Ministry said it had appealed to JOHESU to maintain the status quo while the NSIWC concludes its ongoing job evaluation exercise, which is aimed at determining the appropriate placement of all health professionals in line with the Ministry’s commitment to collective bargaining and evidence-based decision-making.
“In reaching the decision of maintaining the status quo pending the completion of the job evaluation, the ministry took into cognizance the conflicting positions of the union/association in the sector based on the MOUs/agreements signed with the federal government in the past.
“The job evaluation exercise, which commenced in November 2025, is expected to last six months and will pave the way for discussions on salary adjustments as well as the reconvening of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA),” the statement added.
On the issue of “No Work, No Pay”, the Ministry emphasizes that its position is that if JOHESU calls off the strike in good faith, the matter would be handled administratively in its entirety.
“To further demonstrate its commitment to industrial harmony, the Ministry affirmed its willingness to accommodate the NLC and TUC in subsequent engagements and raised no objection to their continued participation in the dialogue process.
“Since the meeting of 15 January 2026 the ministry held two other meetings on 20th and 22nd January 2026 to conclude on issues agreed on at the meeting of 15th January 2026 with a view for JOHESU to call off the ongoing strike action.
“Against this backdrop, the Ministry notes that when these sustained engagements are contextualised against the ultimatum issued by the NLC and TUC, there is a clear mismatch,” it noted.
Calling for the understanding of the health workers, their unions and the public, the government noted, “It is important to state that the demand by JOHESU for CONHESS adjustment has been longstanding for over a decade with previous federal governments unable to resolve it.
“Recognising the critical role of healthcare workers in national development and public welfare, the current Federal Government is determined to resolve the issues in a manner that safeguards uninterrupted healthcare delivery, promotes team spirit and equity across professional cadres, and reinforces industrial harmony for the long-term good of the country”.
Emphasising that it remains resolutely committed to achieving sustainable industrial peace in the health sector, it said, “The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare assures that the Federal Government of Nigeria remains steadfast in its commitment to finding an enduring and sustainable resolution to the dispute in the overall interest of the nation guided by dialogue, fairness, and mutual respect”
While extending its deep appreciation to other health professionals who are still at work, saving lives, the government affirmed, “We will continue all efforts to ensure that Federal Hospitals remain open”.
When it comes to healthcare, quality isn’t measured by hospitals alone. Experts evaluate systems based on access, affordability, patient safety, life expectancy, and efficiency. Drawing from studies by the World Health Organization and the Commonwealth Fund, this countries consistently rise to the top for delivering high-quality care and strong health outcomes.
Here are the nine countries setting the global standard for healthcare you should know:
1. France
France’s healthcare system is frequently ranked among the world’s best. Funded through payroll taxes and government contributions, it offers universal coverage for all residents.
Patients have seamless access to primary care, specialists, and hospital services, with most costs covered by public insurance. Complementary private insurance is available for copayments. Preventive care, low mortality rates, and high patient satisfaction make France a global benchmark for effective healthcare.
2. Japan
Japan pairs top-tier medical care with cost efficiency. Universal health insurance ensures that all residents can access treatment, diagnostics, and hospital services at regulated prices.
A strong focus on preventive care and early detection has helped Japan achieve one of the highest life expectancies among developed nations.
3. Sweden
Sweden’s system priorities equity and patient-centered care, funded primarily through taxes. Residents benefit from universal access and strong primary care networks.
Sweden also invests heavily in digital health records and patient safety, maintaining strict privacy standards. Maternal and avoidable mortality rates are among the lowest in the developed world, reflecting consistent quality care.
4. Germany
Germany boasts one of the oldest universal healthcare systems, blending public coverage with private insurance options. This hybrid model ensures both universal access and patient choice.
Generous investment in healthcare supports advanced facilities, highly trained professionals, and high-quality outcomes, setting Germany apart as a model of efficiency and excellence.
5. United Kingdom
The National Health Service (NHS) provides comprehensive healthcare free at the point of delivery. Despite ongoing pressures on resources, the NHS performs well in preventive care, chronic disease management, and cost containment, standing out among high-income nations.
Australia combines public and private healthcare effectively. Its universal system guarantees basic coverage, while private insurance offers expanded choice and faster access.
Strong primary care networks, high patient safety standards, and rural coverage make Australia’s system highly effective and widely accessible.
7. Switzerland
Switzerland is known for its quality and efficiency. Universal coverage is provided through mandatory private insurance, regulated by government authorities.
Although costs are high, Swiss residents benefit from excellent hospital care, accessible medical services, and consistently strong outcomes.
8. Netherlands
The Netherlands emphasizes patient choice and competition. Private providers deliver care under strict regulation, ensuring universal access and high-quality services. Efficient administration and robust primary care contribute to positive health outcomes.
9. Canada
Canada offers publicly funded healthcare focused on equity, giving residents access to essential services without direct charges.
While wait times for specialists can be long, the system excels in patient safety, overall outcomes, and financial protection, maintaining accessibility for all.
Raw or partially parboiled, I eat fresh orange peel with food or in sauce and drink, as tea, the water extracts of its rich array of medicinal chemical substances. I am a peels-eating fellow, but I eat orange peel not, as many persons do, for asthma and other respiratory system challenges or for digestive system and infection troubles. The ORANGE colour of the orange peel excites me, rather, for SECOND CHAKRA HEALTH. Orange is the colour of the second chakra. RED is the colour of the first chakra as stated in the second part of this series. In the second chakra region of males and females are such organs as…( kidneys, testes, prostate gland, ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus , adrenals, lower back, hips and the appendix.
Thankfully, my SECOND CHAKRA, like the FIRST CHAKRA, would appear to still bounce in radiant health. Urinary incontinence and urgency are still out of the question. So are dribbling, nocturnal, stones and urinary pain. I catch some night or early morning urine in a clear glass cup to check for sugar, ants and deposits, and have no worries over erectile dysfunction (ED), or male menopause. Aren’t all these worth a New Year Resolution thumbs up for the ORANGE COLOUR again in my diet this year, and why factory-made ORANGE PEEL POWDER or that from my whole orange servings worth a place in my menu list?
I devoted this week to the SECOND CHAKRA to encourage us all to include its health in our New Year Health Resolutions. However, I would detour a little to the FIRST CHAKRA and then re-connect with the SECOND CHAKRA because, in the last column, I left certain things hanging in the air about the FIRST CHAKRA.
Before I continue, I would like to re-affirm:
One: The body and the overself are in a union held together by their uniting energy or radiations. Having been glowed through and made to be alive by the Overself, the body must continue to produce some energy like a motor vehicle fired up by an IGNITION starter. Its chances of meeting its quota of energy in their union is maintained by diet.
Two: The Overself must not shut the door of its energy supply to the union through negative emotions or ROOT CHAKRA blockage of energy to the mud body. This is where colour RED is an important therapy in THE FIRST CHAKRA, as we should soon see. Before then, I would like to recall from the first part of this column my observation that the Ibos of South Eastern Nigeria may be our Nigerian custodians of this natural secret in the preferences for RED COLOURS in their dressing. See how effervescent or boisterous, active and full of life they are.
Many other human populations are like the Ibos when it comes to COLOUR RED. Among native American tribes such as the Navajo Cherokee and the Sioux, COLOUR RED features prominently in clothing and adornments. It connotes life force, energy, strength, courage and connections to its ancestry and tradition. The Chinese symbolise RED with prosperity, good fortune and happiness, especially during weddings and festivals and to exorcise dark entities. For the Indians, RED connotes purity, power and fertility. Thus, brides adorn themselves with RED on a wedding day. Several Africans, too, see red as life, vitality and passion, as we observe in clothing and beaded jewelry, for example.
Intrigued by these commentaries in PSYCHIC and CHAKRA medicine journals, I sought more information from Google and obtained from it the following AI overview:
“In addition to Red Jasper, other red-hued and root chakra-associated stones good for foot treatment include Garnet and Red Carnelian, for grounding, stability, and vital energy flow.
RED JASPER, Known as the “Stone of Endurance” or “Supreme Nurturer,” provides strong grounding, stability, and emotional balance. It helps reduce stress and anxiety, enhances physical strength and stamina, and connects you deeply to the earth’s energy.
GARNET, known as the “Stone of Ultimate Health,” is a highly energising and revitalising stone. It stimulates the flow of energy, helps in emotional healing, and encourages courage, confidence, and passion. It’s excellent for boosting low energy levels and promoting a sense of safety.
RED CARNELIA brings a fiery burst of life, warmth, and vitality, clears energy blockages, boosts willpower, self-confidence, stimulates creativity and motivation. Carnelia helps you feel secure and grounded while encouraging you to take action and overcome procrastination.
BLOODSTONE, a warrior stone with dark green and red flecks, promotes strength, courage, and resilience. It’s an emotional balancer that helps you feel centred and protected from negative influences.
Red Calcite, a gentler red stone, helps in emotional balance and can soothe anger or panic.”
The second chakra
This is a vast Eldorado of health gold mines for lucky fellows, or of health misfortunes for the careless navigator of minefields which the school of power dynamics says may befall some persons. As stated in the first part of this series, we encounter the curriculum of the SCHOOL OF LIFE as it were, between the 8 to 14 age bracket. If the lessons we are to learn in this stage of existence are elusive, they become “carry over courses” for us, sometimes throughout earthly existence.
What are the principal lessons? I always observe three categories…1) POWER DYNAMICS 2) SEXUALITY and 3) CREATIVITY DYNAMICS. The three are multi aceted. I would begin with POWER DYNAMICS, because its shortcomings visibly affect not only individuals but whole populations as well.
It was in adult life, while paying attention to children at play for the spiritual lessons I may learn from their assumed nuances, that I first realised that my generation as children missed a lot of education. Observe a group of children arguing on a moon-lit night about who, among them, the moon is following about. Every boy and girl believes it is he or she. This is an introduction to POWER DYNAMICS. For it is whoever the moon is following who holds the aces…POWER! What is power and how is it meant to be used?
We did not create ourselves and our world, and so must be subject to the prescriptions for orderly conduct in this orderly world. We need POWER for navigating the world.
However, power is not to be used for selfish or personal ends, but for self-balancing and well being of persons in our orbit. There are several dimensions of this. I would like to mention scenarios in marriage and in work places. In marriage, one party may strive always to strangulate the other with a view to having his or her way on important questions. If the husband, for example, cannot always push his way through and he becomes so emotionally disturbed that he begins to grieve, regretting the marriage but unable to get out of it in his state of powerlessness, his second chakra may become blocked. The blockage may affect important organs in the region. Similarly, a wife who groans under the weight of an uncompromising husband may suffer a second chakra shutdown. Some gynaecological conditions have been linked to this. They may include hormonal imbalances, menstrual cycle difficulties and pain, difficulties with getting pregnant, miscarriages, pre-term births, prolonged birthing process, health weaknesses in offsprings. Many men may not easily link male sexual vitality problems to the second chakra. These may include low sperm count, sperm motility and morphology questions, erectile dysfunction, “watery” sperm, hydrocele, testicular atrophy, premature ejaculation, loss of libido etc.
In an alternative medicine Sex Clinic, these possible second chakra challenges are addressed not only with plant medicines and nutrition but, also, with enquiries about relationship conduct of the spouses as well. The aim of the therapist is to discover if there exists strangulating bottlenecks in relationships which both parties must ease and free by obeying THE LAW OF BALANCE, one of the three basic Laws of Creation. This law teaches us that The Law of Balance upholds equilibrium and peace throughout the universe. Really, isn’t this why we gauge the tyres of our car and run “wheel balancing” checks? Isn’t this why we have pillars and beams in a building? Isn’t it the law of balance which prevents planetary bodies from colliding against one another? We can go on and on. Even between the bosses and their subordinate in offices, do outwardly kingly but inwardly empty bosses not inwardly stand before their subordinates like slaves and consequently suffer emotional pain and blockages when they cannot subdue their subordinates with the authority of their offices? In such cases, the emotional pain they bear when they quiver with fear in the presence of psychically stronger subordinates will eventually block the second chakra. Similarly, the voiceless and powerless subordinate who despises the next day at work under a corrosive boss must lose something in the process. It is his or her second chakra health.
The best way to live is to use power or authority for the benefit of everyone by respecting their humanity and not exceeding the inner boundaries they have set for themselves against intrusion by an outsider. However, this hardly happens as it has become more evident in recent years, with the Monroe Doctrine (1923) appearing to become obsolete in international relations. Even in country politics, have we not witnessed one tribe trying to annihilate another?
Another example I would like to make is of marital or sexual relationships with which many adults are familiar. We are in the realms of healthy expression, respect of oneself and respect of others in intimate relationships. As an expert puts it:
“ Self expression in intimate relationships means being able to communicate your desires, needs, boundaries and feelings openly and honestly with your partner.
Examples of self expression are
1) Sharing what you like in bed
2) Expressing emotional needs or desires
3) Setting boundaries or saying “no” without guilt
4) Being vulnerable and authentic with your partner
Consequences of lack of self expression include
(RESENTMENT AND FRUSTRATION: Bottling up feelings can lead to anger or disconnection);
(UNMET NEEDS: Not communicating needs can lead to unfulfilling relationships);
(EMOTIONAL DISTANCE: Lack of vulnerability can create distance or mistrust);
(PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS: Stress from supressed emotions can impact physical health. E.g. pelvic pain, low libido)”.
Many Nigerians would consider the foregoing as Euro-American conceptions. Did our grand parents self-express in bed? Their generation knew nothing about THE BEAUTY OF THE NUDE OR NO HOLDS BAR. Lights were off and clothes were on. Yet, infertility and other gynaecological challenges of today were infrequent. Or, was their world more diet protecting?
Spiritually, I agree there ought to be boundaries in outer or psychic spaces for sanity to prevail. Couples may live in separate rooms and no one may be on beck and call of the other. They are in a union and not in a merger. The most challenging test for SECOND CHAKRA health today is when a spouse partially or completely withdraws from a union and the other does not let go. Negative emotions build up. If the departing partner is strong enough, his or her aura disintegrates negative emotions spurn around him or her, while the origin is entombed in misery, grief and pain. In all naturalness, are the misery, grieving and pain right and natural? Does any party in a union create and own the other? Can a union not be dissolved when it has served its usefulness to one party? Shouldn’t the discarded party simply accept the right of the other, right or wrong, to move on and recognise that there are thousands or more stars in the firmament and fish in the ocean, as Nigeria’s theatre pride, HUBERT OGUNDE, once sang! There is no doubt that the forceful tearing apart of relationships nowadays causes debilitating SECOND CHAKRA blockages and premature aging and disorders of reproductive organs.
Neurologist Sigmund Freud, who, arguably, brought psychoanalysis to humanity, helped to sharpen and to popularise some of these notions. He said physical surrender was pleasurable and that conjugating parties ought to be free to express their feelings even to the point of telling their partners what he or she should do with them without inhibitions. To not do this and to hold back the fire could barricade a circulation flow, of etheric energy, he reasoned. I cannot immediately recall now if the logic that human conjugation was an ANIMAL ACT caught up with Freud when he was alive. Animal Act suggests that the pleasures are limited to the physical body, their origin and that, to not soil itself, the soul or spirit who owns that animalistic body can impose immaculateness or a semblance of it in such activity. Some persons believed Sigmund Freud went too far in clinical observations of his psychosexual development stages when he outlined how children experienced “shifts across different body areas” and influenced their personality development. If this suggests that the physical body is, indeed, sexually excitable at any stage in life, there are many persons who still believe that the soul or the spirit, as the animating core of the mud body, must dignify these events, however hilarious they may be to the body.
About 20 years ago, I wrote a column titled…THE MAN WHO PUT HIS MOUTH IN THE WRONG PLACE. Self protecting human antibodies in “THE WRONG PLACE” made a nasty mince meat of his gums, tongue and teeth. Prolonged use of Grape seed extract (GSE) and Bee propolis gave him relief. Such persons as this man know the values of setting boundaries for vulturous partners, and, also, of having the off limits respected on the other side. It is a GIVE and TAKE exchange in which a loser may bottle up ruinous emotions. Build ups of such negative emotions are what may grow into blockages of the SECOND CHAKRA which another counsellor describes as follows…
“Self-expression in intimate relationships means being able to communicate your desires, needs, boundaries, and feelings openly and honestly with your partner. Examples of self expression include, but are not limited to,
Sharing what you like or dislike in bed,
Expressing emotional needs or desires,
Setting boundaries or saying “no” without guilt and being vulnerable and authentic with your partner.
Absence of self expression has consequences. These may include Resentment and frustration, Bottled feelings, anger or disconnection, Unmet needs, uncommunicated needs, Emotional distance, and mistrust.
Stress from suppressed emotions can impact physical health ( pelvic pain, low libido).
Creativity
Beyond power dynamics, creativity is another pillar of health balance in the second chakra. We are meant to be creative. That is why the talents of anyone reveal themselves very early in life. Some persons are not lucky. Their talents are repressed or go undiscovered. A singer may be diverted to study law, engineering or medicine. This is a diversion from a natural course of events which may even have karmaic consequences, such as the need to repeat a wasted earth life. From second chakra creativity literature, we learn:
“Creativity and the second chakra go hand-in-hand. Blockages and the challenges are often caused by:
Emotional suppression: Bottled feelings can stifle creativity. So can
Fear of expression, judgment or rejection which can block self-expression. So do lack of inspiration, disconnection from passions or desires, unhealthy relationships, toxic dynamics which drain creative energy
Self-doubt or criticism and Negative self-talk which hinder creative flow.
Some of the signs of blockage include feeling stuck or uninspired, difficulty expressing emotions or desires, struggling with intimacy or relationships, and lack of joy or pleasure in activities.
Herbs and precious stones
Orange is the colour of the second chakra. I said at the outset that I enjoy eating orange peel. I do so for the orange in the colour and for other nutrients. I also sometimes take solarised water. I also drink solarised water infused with yellow ethers of sunlight. (Please see solarisation of water online). There are some herbs and precious metals which may help to boost the yellow wavelength of second chakra energy vortex. For these therapies, I derive inspiration always from the psychic garden of Mellie Uyldert and the creation of health of co authors surgeon Norman Shealy and journalist-cum spiritualist Carolyn Myss. Yellow plants are abundant in nature for second chakra health.
Calendula ( Marigold) supports creativity and intimacy
Hibiscus is anti stress and balances emotions
Damiana supports sensuality and relaxation. In the 1990s, a product named Damiana-Ginseng was my favourite suggestion for frigidity in women.
Ginger rouses creative energy As for precious stones, an expert advises:
“ Carnelia stimulates creativity or motivation.
Orange calcite dissolves emotional blockages and brings joy
Amber cleanses and purifies sacral chakra
Moonstone balances feminine energies and emotional fluidity
Tangerine quartz uplifts energy and enhances creativity.
I concluded this column on Saturday 10 January during the visit of Moriamo Yisa, an acquaintance at Ilupeju Model Market in Lagos. She does not visit empty handed. One of the items in her gifts pack were oranges. The peels of these oranges ended their cycle in a pot of rice which was eaten by my household with other health enablers, including THORNTINA 74 of which I shall soon write.
The absence of a sustained new-born hearing screening programme in Nigeria’s public hospitals is contributing significantly to the late detection of hearing loss in children, limiting their access to timely and effective treatment, a clinical audiologist, Dr. Simeon Afolabi, has said.
Dr. Afolabi, promoter of the BSA Hearing and Speech Centre in Lagos, spoke with The Nation at the weekend during a Cochlear Implant information and support meeting for patients and parents. He warned that the lack of routine screening means many Nigerian children with hearing impairment are only identified years after birth, long after critical windows for speech and language development have begun to close.
According to him, hearing loss in new-borns can be detected within hours of birth through a simple, non-invasive test known as otoacoustic emission (OAE) screening. The test measures sound waves produced in the inner ear in response to auditory stimuli and takes only a few minutes to perform. Despite its simplicity and effectiveness, Dr. Afolabi noted that the screening is not routinely offered in government hospitals across the country. “In many countries, new-born hearing screening is standard practice and part of routine postnatal care,” he said. “In Nigeria, however, it is largely absent in public hospitals, even though early detection can change the entire trajectory of a child’s development.”
He explained that in private healthcare facilities, the cost of an OAE screening test ranges between N10,000 and N15,000, putting it beyond the reach of many families. Without a publicly funded programme, parents often remain unaware that such screening exists, and signs of hearing loss may go unnoticed until a child fails to develop speech or struggles academically.
Dr. Afolabi recalled that Lagos State had previously piloted new-born hearing screening programmes in selected facilities, including the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and General Hospital, Gbagada. However, he said the initiative was not sustained due to staffing constraints and administrative challenges. “As a result, many children are diagnosed very late, sometimes at seven or eight years of age, when speech and language development have already been significantly affected,” he said.
He noted that delayed diagnosis has far-reaching consequences, extending beyond communication difficulties to include social isolation, poor academic performance, and reduced economic opportunities later in life. Early detection, he stressed, allows for timely intervention, which may include hearing aids, speech therapy, or cochlear implantation, depending on the severity of the hearing loss. Dr. Afolabi explained that cochlear implants, which are electronic medical devices that bypass damaged parts of the inner ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve, are most effective when implanted early—ideally before the age of six. When hearing loss is identified late, the benefits of cochlear implantation are significantly reduced, and children often require longer and more intensive rehabilitation to develop functional speech and language skills. “Time is critical in auditory development,” he said. “The brain’s ability to process sound and develop language is strongest in the early years. When we miss that window, we are trying to correct years of lost stimulation.”
According to him, children account for about 70 per cent of cochlear implant users in Nigeria. However, overall access to the technology remains limited due to a combination of low awareness, late diagnosis, and high cost. He disclosed that a single cochlear implant costs between N19 million and N20 million per ear, a figure that places it far beyond the reach of most Nigerian families without external support.
He argued that the high cost of treatment underscores the importance of early screening, which can reduce long-term expenses by enabling less complex and more cost-effective interventions at an earlier stage. Dr. Afolabi called on health authorities to integrate new-born hearing screening into routine postnatal services in public hospitals, alongside existing checks such as immunisation and metabolic screening. He also urged greater investment in training audiology personnel and equipping public health facilities with basic screening tools.
According to him, institutionalising new-born hearing screening would not only improve clinical outcomes for children with hearing loss but also reduce the broader social and economic burden associated with untreated hearing impairment. “Early detection is not a luxury; it is a necessity,” he said. “If Nigeria is serious about improving child health and developmental outcomes, new-born hearing screening must become part of standard care in our public hospitals.”
Nigeria must move urgently to institutionalise dedicated, long-term healthcare funding if it is to sustain its emerging healthcare industrial boom and secure its ambition of becoming a regional manufacturing hub. This call was made by Prof. Lere Baale, Professor of Pharmacy and a leading voice in healthcare policy, at the Codix Group Dinner themed “Sustaining Nigeria’s Healthcare Industrial Boom: The Need for Dedicated Healthcare Funding.”
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Baale described Nigeria’s current healthcare transformation as a historic yet fragile moment—one that could easily falter without deliberate and enduring financial architecture. According to him, the country is witnessing nothing short of an industrial awakening in healthcare, marked by a decisive shift from import dependence to local capability and value creation. “Nigeria is experiencing a healthcare industrial awakening—a shift from dependency to capability, from imports to local value creation. The boom is real. However, there is a call for us to sustain it,” he said.
Prof. Baale noted that in recent years, Nigeria’s healthcare and pharmaceutical ecosystem has undergone a quiet but profound transformation. Indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers are expanding production capacity, diagnostic firms are investing in local assembly and innovation, and regulatory confidence is steadily improving. Skilled professionals who once sought opportunities abroad are beginning to return, while regional and international partnerships are deepening across the value chain.
He attributed this progress to a convergence of necessity and leadership. The COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, foreign exchange volatility, and rising import costs, he argued, exposed the vulnerabilities of overdependence on external suppliers. In response, regulators and policymakers have become more intentional in aligning healthcare regulation with national industrial priorities. “What we are witnessing is not just growth; it is industrial possibility—the emergence of healthcare as a strategic pillar of national development,” Prof. Baale said.
Despite these gains, he warned that the absence of structured, long-term, affordable healthcare-specific financing poses a serious threat to the sector’s sustainability. Healthcare manufacturing, he explained, is fundamentally different from conventional trading activity. It is capital-intensive, characterised by long gestation periods, heavy upfront investment, stringent regulatory requirements, advanced technology needs, and reliance on highly skilled human capital.
Yet, he lamented, it is often financed with short-term, high-cost capital that is ill-suited to the realities of the industry. “A healthcare industrial boom without dedicated funding is like a factory without power—it may exist, but it cannot operate optimally,” he stated.
According to Prof. Baale, dedicated healthcare funding is not merely desirable but a strategic necessity. Properly structured financing, he said, would stabilise supply chains, improve product quality and regulatory compliance, create high-value jobs, protect national health security, and position Nigeria as an attractive destination for global healthcare investment. He emphasised that medicines, diagnostics, and medical consumables should be treated as strategic national assets rather than ordinary commodities, given their centrality to public health, productivity, and national resilience.
To translate this vision into action, Prof. Baale outlined a comprehensive seven-point framework aimed at institutionalising sustainable healthcare financing in Nigeria. Central to the proposal is a call to increase the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) from the current one per cent to three per cent of consolidated government revenue. He argued that such an increase would better reflect the strategic importance of healthcare to national productivity, economic growth, and security. He further proposed that the expanded BHCPF be strategically domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BOI), working in close coordination with the Federal Ministry of Health. This structure, he said, should be supported by well-designed Medipool arrangements at state and local government levels to ensure efficient, transparent, and timely disbursement of funds across the healthcare value chain.
Payment discipline, Prof. Baale stressed, must also be non-negotiable. He recommended a guaranteed payment turnaround time of no more than 30 days for healthcare manufacturers and service providers, noting that predictable cash flow is critical for sustaining production, meeting regulatory standards, and planning long-term investments. In addition, he called for the establishment of a revolving healthcare fund to ensure continuity and long-term capital availability, rather than the current reliance on sporadic, one-off interventions. Such a fund, he explained, would allow capital to be recycled and redeployed, supporting sustained growth and resilience in the sector.
Prof. Baale also advocated the implementation of a guaranteed sales and offtake framework. By providing market assurance, he said, government-backed offtake arrangements would encourage manufacturers to expand capacity, invest in quality improvements, and reduce overall risk across the value chain. Collectively, these measures, he noted, would create a mutually reinforcing, win-win financing architecture—securing reliable supply for government, enabling sustainable scale for industry, reducing risk exposure for banks, attracting investor confidence, and ultimately improving access to quality healthcare products and services for Nigerian citizens.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Baale issued a broad call to action across the healthcare ecosystem. Banks, he said, must evolve beyond transactional lending to become genuine development partners. Policymakers should begin to treat healthcare funding as infrastructure investment rather than recurrent expenditure. Regulators must continue to balance patient safety with industrial growth, while institutional investors should recognise healthcare as a long-term value sector with strategic national importance. According to him, the decisions taken now will determine whether Nigeria’s healthcare industrial boom matures into a durable pillar of economic development—or fades as a missed opportunity.
Resolutions fail, but life continues. Health isn’t shaped by January promises—it’s formed in the small choices, routines and compromises we make every day. Notice your body, recognise quiet adaptations, and respond with intention. Insight, not guilt, guides sustainable wellbeing. What is your life quietly teaching you about your health?
For weeks, we’ve been exploring why health resolutions fail. We’ve peeled back the layers of human behaviour, revealing how motivation, willpower, and even our best intentions can crumble. Stress, unrealistic expectations, and the quiet pressures of daily life quietly sabotage efforts to eat better, move more, or sleep enough. Many of us nodded along—some with discomfort—because these weren’t stories about “other people.” They were stories about us.
But understanding why we fail, while useful, is only the first step. Knowledge alone doesn’t change anything. Change begins when insight meets action. We’ve dissected failure; now it’s time to explore life itself—how we actually live, the patterns we normalise, and how these routines quietly shape our health. So here’s the shift: we’ve examined why we fail. Now, let’s examine how we live. Take a moment, no one is watching. Ask yourself: How many hours did you sleep last night? When did you last eat without rushing or scrolling through your phone? How often do you move your body outside of work or commuting? When did you last check your blood pressure, blood sugar, or weight? Do you feel rested—or just functional?
If any of those questions made you uneasy, you are not alone. Most of us live with quiet compromises: low energy, mild discomfort, postponed health checks. We accept them as “normal.” But normal is not always healthy. Resolutions are episodic; life is continuous. Health doesn’t collapse because a January promise failed—it erodes slowly, shaped by what we accept every day: skipped sleep, ignored symptoms, stress worn as a badge of honour, and care deferred “until things settle down.”
This series is taking a new direction. It’s no longer about chasing the next perfect January or ticking off resolutions. Instead, it’s about understanding the cumulative impact of the life you lead right now—how the choices, habits, and compromises you make daily shape not just your body, but your energy, clarity, and capacity to engage with life. Only by noticing these patterns can you respond with intention rather than reaction.
Our upcoming series, The Health We Live With, will explore this gradually, in stages. We’ll begin with adaptation. Most of us have learned to live with aches, fatigue, headaches, digestive discomfort, or restless sleep. We shrug and say, “This is just how life is.” But adaptation is not healing—it is survival. Your body is remarkable at adjusting to stress, poor diet, and irregular routines, but adjustment is not health. It’s the difference between enduring and thriving. This week, take a moment to assess: what has your body quietly adapted to? Are you merely surviving, or are you truly thriving?
From there, we’ll examine the understated power of small choices. Health is rarely transformed by a single heroic gesture or dramatic overhaul. It grows through repetition, through countless small decisions: the breakfast you choose, whether you take the stairs instead of the elevator, how consistently you hydrate and rest. These daily micro-actions accumulate, shaping your long-term wellbeing. Ask yourself: what is one small, practical change my future self would thank me for today?
Modern life complicates this picture. Busyness is lauded; exhaustion is often worn as a badge of honour. Yet constant activity carries costs—stress, poor sleep, elevated blood pressure, a weakened immune system. Imagine if rest were non-negotiable. What commitments would you need to decline? What routines would need to shift to protect your energy? Recognising these hidden costs is essential to reclaiming vitality.
We’ll also explore the subtle signals the body gives before serious illness arises. Conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or kidney disease often begin quietly. Symptoms can be mild, easily dismissed, or attributed to “normal life.” The body whispers before it screams. This week, pay attention: what gentle alerts have you been ignoring? A slight dizziness, unusual fatigue, or persistent discomfort may feel trivial—but acknowledging them now can prevent far greater problems later.
Equally important, we’ll redefine what health really means. It is not a number on a scale, a cholesterol reading, or the calories you consume. True health is energy, mental clarity, functionality, and the ability to fully engage with life. Sustainable wellbeing arises when habits, environment, and mind-set align—not when a short-term goal is reached. Imagine health measured not by aesthetics, but by vitality. Where does your life currently fall on that scale?
This approach asks you to move from self-judgment to self-recognition. Change does not begin with discipline; it begins with awareness. Observe your routines, acknowledge the compromises you’ve normalised, and consider their long-term impact. You are not expected to overhaul your life overnight—only to see it clearly. Here’s a practical exercise: write down three behaviours you’ve normalised that quietly undermine your health—skipping breakfast, scrolling late at night, skipping movement breaks. Beside each, list one small adjustment you could try this week. Incremental changes compound over time.
Another exercise: schedule a “body audit.” Spend a day tracking your energy, mood, digestion, and alertness. Note patterns. These are the clues your body is sending about the life you lead. Awareness comes before action; insight comes before transformation. Over the coming weeks, this series will remain interactive. Each instalment will invite reflection, experimentation, and practical steps grounded in real-life experiences. The aim is not to provoke guilt, but to cultivate insight. Each week encourages you to look inward, to recognise where you compromise and where you can choose differently.
In short, we are shifting from resolution failure to life awareness. From asking why goals collapse, we are moving toward asking how daily living shapes health. We’ll explore adaptation, small choices, modern living, early warning signs, and the building blocks of sustainable wellness. The goal is simple: to help you see your life clearly, respond thoughtfully, and act with intention. Ultimately, ask yourself this question every day: What is my life quietly teaching me about my health? Answer honestly. Those insights will matter far more than any resolution ever could.
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its determination to entrench the highest ethical standards in health research, pledging sustained institutional and policy support for the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) as a safeguard for research participants and a pillar of scientific credibility in Nigeria. This assurance was given on Tuesday in Abuja by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, at the 2026 Face-to-Face Meeting and Training Workshop of NHREC—an annual forum that brings together ethics regulators, researchers, and partners to strengthen oversight of health research across the country.
Salako underscored the centrality of ethics to credible and impactful research, particularly studies involving human subjects. He noted that as Nigeria expands its research footprint in areas such as clinical trials, vaccines, and disease surveillance, ethical oversight must keep pace and remain aligned with internationally accepted best practices.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s renewed focus on research ethics dates back to the establishment of NHREC in 2005, a milestone that was further consolidated by the National Health Act of 2014. The Act formally empowered the committee to grant ethical approvals, issue guidelines, and monitor health research activities nationwide—roles Salako described as fundamental to protecting citizens and strengthening confidence in scientific outcomes.
He praised the current NHREC, inaugurated in January 2024 under the chairmanship of Prof. Richard Adegbola, for recording measurable progress in a relatively short period. The committee, he said, has improved the timeliness of ethics reviews while reinforcing oversight mechanisms that promote accountability and consistency. “The expertise and dedication demonstrated by NHREC members in the last two years are bringing progress, order and credibility to Nigeria’s health research ecosystem,” Salako said, adding that ethical governance is no longer optional but essential in a global research environment that demands transparency and trust.
The minister commended the committee for convening early in the year to develop a clear work plan and strategic direction, describing the 2026 meeting as a fitting way to mark the second anniversary of the present NHREC. Such proactive planning, he noted, reflects institutional maturity and a shared commitment to continuous improvement. A major highlight of Salako’s address was the digital transformation of the ethics review process. He applauded the revamping of the NHREC website and the deployment of an electronic ethics review portal, describing the innovation as a game-changer that will enhance efficiency, strengthen data management, improve transparency, and deepen engagement with stakeholders.
He urged researchers, institutions, sub-national ethics committees, and international collaborators to fully embrace the e-portal, stressing that digitalisation would help standardise reviews, reduce delays, and better protect the rights and welfare of research participants. Salako also acknowledged the crucial role of development partners in strengthening Nigeria’s ethics landscape. He specifically mentioned the Gates Foundation, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF), the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Centre, and GARNET partners for their technical and financial support.
The minister described the ongoing Trial Regulation and Clinical Ethics Optimisation (TRACE) project as a welcome intervention, assuring participants that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would build on its gains to ensure a sustainable and robust ethical environment for clinical research. Reiterating the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Salako said the government remains focused on encouraging and funding local research for drug development, vaccine production, and disease epidemiology. Ethical conduct, he emphasised, is indispensable to public trust, national ownership of research outcomes, and global scientific credibility. He called on NHREC members to intensify their efforts toward achieving a fully ethically compliant health research ecosystem in line with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, before formally declaring the 2026 NHREC Face-to-Face Meeting and Training Workshop open.
