Cancer: FG, states urged to raise health budget, tobacco products’ taxes

Health experts and global partners have called on the federal and state governments to close Nigeria’s widening health gap by significantly increasing budgetary allocations to the health sector. They warned that the country’s current spending on health is grossly inadequate compared to global standards. Speaking at the 2025 Gatefield Health Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, […]

Health experts and global partners have called on the federal and state governments to close Nigeria’s widening health gap by significantly increasing budgetary allocations to the health sector.

They warned that the country’s current spending on health is grossly inadequate compared to global standards.

Speaking at the 2025 Gatefield Health Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, stakeholders noted that Africa carries 25 percent of the global disease burden but receives only 3 percent of global health spending.

In Nigeria, average per-person health expenditure is a mere $5, compared to $4,500 in Europe.

“We are actively defunding life,” said Adewunmi Emoruwa, Lead Strategist at Gatefield, during his keynote address, citing Nigeria’s 97 percent cut to its national family planning budget.

Emoruwa called for greater domestic financing and diaspora contributions to strengthen the country’s health system.

He urged citizens and policymakers to rethink funding strategies, noting that even a small portion of diaspora remittances could make a major difference.

“If just 1 percent of diaspora remittances were directed toward systemic health interventions, Nigeria’s health budget would grow by $200 million overnight,” he said.

Dr. Ummi Musa Umar, founder of the Call Off Cancer Initiative and FCT Coordinator for the Youth Coalition Against Cancer, stressed the need for preventive health measures through fiscal policies.

She urged the government to impose higher taxes on tobacco products, including cigarettes, shisha, and electronic cigarettes, to curb smoking-related cancers and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Umar noted that the affordability of tobacco products is driving increased consumption among young Nigerians.

“Big tobacco companies should be taxed heavily because they are making profits at the expense of people’s lives. The taxes should be high enough to offset the health and economic damage caused by tobacco use,” she said.

She further explained that many Nigerians remain unaware of the health risks associated with smoking and second-hand smoke exposure, adding that poor diet and other lifestyle factors are contributing to the rising incidence of cancer.

“A lot of children develop cancer because their parents smoke at home. I know women who have died from lung cancer even though they never smoked, but their husbands did,” Umar said.

She called for stronger government support for campaigns promoting smoke-free communities, campuses, and public spaces.

Also speaking, Dr. Niti Pall, President-elect of the International Diabetes Federation, stressed the importance of prevention and innovation in primary healthcare delivery.

“We need to have health practitioners in primary care trained with better tools to treat their patients more effectively,” she said.

Adenike Adeoye of Invictus Africa added that increased investment in women’s health and empowerment is essential for economic growth.

“When we invest in women, we see economic growth, greater workforce participation, and higher productivity,” she said.