Health: Entrepreneur Calls For Bold Reforms To Halt Systemic Collapse

Dr. Richard Ajayi, entrepreneur and healthcare advocate, has warned that Nigeria’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse unless urgent and bold structural reforms are implemented.

Speaking in an interview on Sunday in Abuja, Ajayi lamented the country’s poor investment in health, noting that Nigeria allocates less than six per cent of its national budget to the sector—far below the 15 per cent target set under the 2001 Abuja Declaration.

He stressed that while funding is important, money alone cannot fix the system without deep structural reforms.

“Even if Nigeria doubles healthcare spending today, the gaps will remain unless the system itself is restructured,” Ajayi said.

Ajayi highlighted severe inequalities in the country’s healthcare workforce, describing them as “alarming and unsustainable.”

“Nigeria has just four doctors per 10,000 people, compared to 47 in Switzerland,” he said. “While the country needs about 363,000 doctors, only 24,000 are currently practising locally. The situation worsened in 2022 when 13,609 Nigerian health workers migrated to the UK alone.”

He warned that the continued brain drain and weak health infrastructure could lead to systemic collapse if not urgently addressed.

To reverse the trend, Ajayi proposed 10 key reforms to transform the sector.

These include:

• Redefining government’s role from service provider to regulator

• Concessioning public hospitals to credible private operators under transparent terms

• Redirecting public funds into a truly national health insurance system

• Establishing urgent care clinics across the country

• Investing in modern healthcare infrastructure

• Strengthening workforce retention policies

• Embracing digital health technologies

• Positioning healthcare as a driver of economic growth

“Nigeria’s healthcare future will not be built by government alone or by the private sector alone,” Ajayi said. “It will take partnership, effective regulation and bold mindset shifts.”

He added that reforming the system was critical as Nigeria’s population is projected to reach 377 million by 2050.

“We must start reimagining healthcare for the Nigeria we are becoming,” he concluded.