The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has called on Nigerian doctors and other health professionals to strengthen professional discipline, accountability, ethical conduct and collaboration to support the ongoing transformation of the country’s health system.
Salako made the call on Wednesday while delivering the Guest of Honour address at the opening of the National Executive Council meeting of the Nigerian Medical Association in Abuja.
The meeting, held at the Barcelona Hotel in Wuse II, had as its theme: “Transforming Healthcare Practice in Nigeria: Building Trust, Accountability and Collaborative Excellence.”
The minister, who described himself as both a member of government and a practising medical doctor, said the theme was central to efforts aimed at reforming the health sector.
He stressed that public trust in healthcare could only be sustained through consistent professional conduct, measurable performance and accountability to patients and the public.
“Trust is not a speech; it is a record,” Salako said.
Health Sector Compact Records 84% Implementation
Salako said the Federal Government’s health sector reform efforts under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative were beginning to produce measurable results.
He said the implementation of key indicators under the Federal Government’s health sector compact with the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory stood at 84 per cent following the 2025 Joint Annual Review.
According to him, 35 states and the FCT have also completed their Joint Annual Reviews and Performance Dialogues.
The minister said the health sector’s share of the national budget had increased to 5.2 per cent, while funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund rose from N131.5 billion in 2024 to N299 billion in 2026.
He said the increased investment had enabled direct financing for more than 8,000 Primary Healthcare Centres, while nearly 4,000 facilities had been upgraded.
Salako added that utilisation of health facilities supported under the fund had also increased.
Maternal, Newborn Deaths Decline in High-Burden LGAs
The minister said the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative had recorded progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths in some of the country’s most affected communities.
According to him, the 172 Local Government Areas with the highest burden of maternal mortality recorded a 17 per cent reduction in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent reduction in newborn deaths.
He said more than 48,000 women had received free emergency obstetric care under the initiative.
The minister added that more than 4,000 free Caesarean sections had been performed in facilities empanelled by the National Health Insurance Authority, while over 4,700 women received free vesico-vaginal fistula repairs across 207 health facilities.
FG Recruits 37,000 Health Workers
On health workforce development, Salako said more than 37,000 workers had been recruited into Federal tertiary hospitals since 2024.
He said approximately 75 per cent of the new recruits were healthcare professionals in the clinical cadre.
According to him, the Federal Government had also increased special allowances for health workers and was implementing incentives, including the Medical Residency Training Fund.
Salako said annual medical school admission quotas had been doubled from about 5,000 to 10,000 in an effort to increase the number of medical professionals trained in the country.
He added that N110 billion had been committed through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for the rehabilitation of 18 medical, dental, pharmacy and nursing training institutions.
The minister said the Federal Government had also adopted a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration to provide a structured response to the increasing movement of Nigerian health professionals abroad.
Minister Warns Against Unethical Practices
Salako, however, challenged doctors to recognise that trust between patients and healthcare professionals was reciprocal.
“Trust is a two-way covenant,” he said.
He warned that patients judged the healthcare system largely through their direct experiences with doctors and other health workers rather than government policies and budgetary allocations.
The minister specifically identified absenteeism, informal payments, diversion of public patients to private facilities and other unethical practices as factors capable of undermining public confidence in the health system.
“Every naira we invest in the health sector can become discounted by those encounters if the highest sense of duty is not exhibited,” he said.
Salako urged the NMA to treat professional conduct as a strategic responsibility and strengthen ethical standards among its members.
FG Strengthens Accountability Mechanisms
The minister said the Federal Government was strengthening systems designed to make healthcare performance measurable and transparent.
He listed the Sector-Wide Approach, Joint Annual Reviews, Performance Dialogues and direct facility financing among mechanisms being used to improve accountability.
Salako added that National Health Fellows and Public Financial Management Officers were also being deployed across the country’s 774 Local Government Areas.
He said the ministry had established a Ministerial Oversight Committee for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund involving state governments, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector.
According to him, the ministry had also voluntarily invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to participate in its monitoring mechanisms.
The minister called for stronger clinical governance, including effective mortality and morbidity reviews, transparent maternal and perinatal death surveillance, monitoring of waiting times and consultant availability, as well as credible disciplinary procedures.
NAFDAC Seizes N1tn Worth of Fake Medical Products
Salako also disclosed that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control had conducted one of its largest enforcement operations against falsified and expired medical products.
He said the agency screened more than 7,000 shops and removed 87 truckloads of falsified, banned and expired medical products from open drug markets in Aba, Onitsha and Lagos.
The seized products, according to him, were valued at about N1 trillion.
The minister called on doctors to take a leading role in tackling quackery in the health sector.
He proposed the establishment of a standing joint anti-quackery mechanism involving the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NMA, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, NAFDAC and security agencies.
He said NMA branches across the states could serve as an important surveillance layer in identifying and reporting quackery.
FG Orders Probe Into Alleged Organ-Harvesting Syndicate
Salako said the Federal Government was also paying close attention to recent social media reports alleging the existence of an organ-harvesting syndicate in parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standard Committee had developed National Standards and Guidelines for Organ and Tissue Transplantation.
According to him, the guidelines require informed consent from both donors and recipients, mandate facility certification and prohibit the commercialisation of human organs and tissues.
The minister said relevant agencies and parastatals under the ministry had been directed to support the Nigeria Police in investigating the allegations and establishing the facts.
On task-shifting and task-sharing among healthcare professionals, Salako said the Federal Government’s policy was designed to expand access to healthcare while ensuring patient safety.
He urged professional groups to resolve disagreements over scope of practice through regulatory and institutional channels rather than through public confrontations or industrial actions that could affect patients.
‘Government, Doctors Must Be Held Accountable’
Salako proposed what he described as reciprocal commitments between the government and the Nigerian Medical Association.
He said the government must be held accountable for honouring its commitments to health workers and collective bargaining agreements, sustaining increased health financing, protecting health professionals at their duty posts and expanding training capacity without compromising accreditation standards.
He also said the NMA should have a meaningful role in decisions relating to health workforce development and scope of practice.
In return, the minister urged the association to strengthen disciplinary measures against unethical practices and ensure that industrial action remained a genuine last resort.
He also called on the NMA to protect emergency services during industrial disputes, lead anti-quackery efforts at state and local levels and promote respect among healthcare professionals.
Salako maintained that the transformation of Nigeria’s health sector could not be achieved by government alone.
“We can go on measuring each other’s failures with great precision, or we can be measured together by the only indicator that matters: whether the Nigerian who walks into a health facility tomorrow is treated with dignity, gets the care he requires without being impoverished, walks out alive and better than when he walked in,” he said.
The minister commended the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Afekhide Ernest Omoti, the association’s National Officers Committee, the Local Organising Committee and Nigerian doctors for their contributions to the development of the country’s health sector.
He subsequently declared the NEC meeting open and wished participants successful deliberations.
