The Nigerian government has reaffirmed its commitment to human capital development through sustained investments in primary healthcare, immunisation, and social welfare programmes as captured in the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
Briefing State House Correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Tinubu, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako said the renewed fiscal direction places strong emphasis on improving health outcomes for millions of Nigerians, particularly vulnerable populations.
The Minister stated that “the President’s resolve to maintain funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund will enable the revitalisation of more primary healthcare centres nationwide.”
He explained that “while more than 4,000 facilities have already been upgraded, the plan to revitalise an additional 8,000 remains on course under the new expenditure framework.”
According to Salako, the administration’s decision to fund key immunisation programmes through the MTEF will also allow for the expansion of several innovative vaccine initiatives introduced by the Tinubu led administration.
He said; “To highlight Mr. President’s continued commitments to human capital development as captured in this 2024-2028 MTF, which is driving a lot of priority attention to this social welfare sector.
“The commitment to sustain funding for the basic health care fund means that more primary health care centers will be revitalized in line with the agenda of Mr. President to put primary health care at the cornerstone of our health care delivery. It means that the more than 4,000 PHCs that have been revitalized, an additional 8,000 are still to be revitalized, can’t be sustained.”
Salako noted that over 14 million Nigerian girls have already received the newly introduced Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, designed to protect them against cervical cancer.
The Minister said the sustained funding will ensure a broader rollout in the coming year.
Salako stressed that the combined measles and rubella vaccine another new intervention has reached nearly 30 million children in less than a year. This programme, he said, “will also be significantly scaled up with the resources provided in the 2026–2028 MTEF.”
“The commitment to ensure that immunisation programmes are funded from the MTF means that we can scale up some of the innovative immunization programs that Mr. President has introduced. The introduction of human papillomavirus to protect our young girls against cervical cancer, which has seen over 14 million Nigerian children immunized. That commitment means that we can also scale that up in the coming year.
“It also means that the novel introduction of combined rubella and measles vaccine, which has seen close to 30 million Nigerian children in less than a year, can be scaled up in the coming year. So basically, it’s to highlight that Mr. President’s commitment to social welfare, which touches the average Nigerian directly, continues to be sustained in this MTEF programme,” he explained.
Salako further said that the renewed focus on health and social welfare reflects President Tinubu’s priority to directly improve the wellbeing of ordinary Nigerians.
He reaffirmed that the administration’s social impact commitments remain firmly embedded in its medium-term economic planning.
“Mr. President’s commitment to social welfare—one that touches the life of the average Nigerian—continues to be sustained in the 2026–2028 MTEF,” the Minister said.
Mercy Chukwudiebere