Checking rising medical tourism

Unbridled medical tourism by political office holders and affluent Nigerians is apparently one of the challenges facing the nation’s fragile healthcare delivery system in recent times. Despite promises by the federal government to reduce it, a new report has shown that money spent on medical tourism by Nigerians increased to $549.29million in the first nine months of 2025. According to the report, this represents a 17.96 per cent increase from $465.67million recorded in the same period of 2024. The humongous amount represents the total foreign exchange outflow for medical-related travel by Nigerians.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, had in 2025 revealed that Nigeria loses about $2billion annually to medical tourism and stressed the urgent need to curb medical tourism. We decry the rising medical tourism and the amount Nigerians spent yearly on it. The money lost to medical tourism annually can be used to develop our health system and make it attractive for Nigerians and even foreigners.

The rising medical tourism stems from poor medical services in our health system caused mainly by inadequate health financing by all tiers of government and the ubiquitous brain drain in the sector. Most of our best brains in the health system have gone abroad in search of better working conditions and well equipped healthcare systems. Even those in medical schools are not contemplating to work in the country. Thousands of Nigerian doctors, nurses and other health professionals now work in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and Canada. Others work in Saudi Arabia and other countries where their services needed and valued.

Reports from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) quarterly bulletin for Q3 2025 revealed rising growth in medical-related travel bills. For instance, Nigerians spent $151.53million in Q1 2025, $189.41million in Q2 and $208.35million in Q3, bringing the nine-month total to $549.29million. Similarly, the same period in 2024 recorded $142.95million, $153.67million and $169.04million, respectively.

Apart from some special medical services where Nigeria lacks expertise at present, many Nigerians embark on medical tourism ostensibly because of better medical services abroad. The irony is that some of the best doctors they meet abroad are Nigerians. It is possible that some wealthy Nigerians, including members of the political class, do so for prestige reasons. Some Nigerians do not trust our health system any longer due to the problems arising from medical negligence and avoidable errors. There is no doubt that the current manpower shortage in the health sector has not really helped matters.

The health funding in Nigeria has not been on the increase in recent times. Mostly, our annual budget for health has unfortunately hovered between 4 and 5 per cent. It has not reached the 15 per cent benchmark agreed upon by African leaders in Abuja in 2001. Nigeria has not fulfilled the Abuja Declaration on health funding by African leaders. We believe that the federal government has the capacity to increase our annual budget for health to 15 per cent. Some African countries which consistently met or exceeded the 15 per cent target include Rwanda, Botswana and Cabo Verde. Even Malawi, Madagascar, Liberia, Namibia and South Africa have met the target in specific years.

Pate was recently quoted as saying that out of the N218billion allocated as capital budget for health in 2025, only N36million was released. No health sector can function effectively under the poor funding. Nigeria may even not achieve the universal health coverage in 2030 as envisaged by the federal government.

The federal and state governments should urgently muster the financial and political will to curb medical tourism by strengthening the domestic healthcare system. They can do this by investing heavily in modern infrastructure and equipment. There is need to retain skilled professionals by enhancing the working conditions of our doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. The government should upgrade our existing medical facilities, especially the teaching hospitals. We should build at least six world-class medical facilities that will handle the diseases, which make our politicians and other rich Nigerians to travel abroad for medical treatment. In fact, every state in Nigeria should build one functional world-class centre to treat cancer, cardiovascular and kidney diseases and others, which make Nigerians to travel abroad for treatment.

Government should intentionally address the brain drain in the health sector by improving the working conditions of all our health workers. They should be paid competitive wages and allowances. The federal government should adequately equip our health system in such a way that our health professionals can be retained. Let it also find other ways it can curb the desire to go abroad by our young graduates, including medical doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and others. Nigeria must build a health system that will be comparable to what obtains abroad. Let the government revamp our healthcare system.