Health professionals say Nigeria’s efforts to improve healthcare are being slowed by insecurity and widespread poverty.
President of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), Terfa Kene, says insecurity, poverty, and systemic gaps remain major threats to public health outcomes despite ongoing government efforts.
Speaking with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, Kene said that while Nigeria continues to respond to multiple health challenges, persistent structural issues are undermining progress, with insecurity affecting healthcare delivery in many communities.
According to him, insecurity forces health workers to flee affected areas, leaving facilities unattended and disrupting essential services such as immunisation. Kene also described poverty as a key driver of poor health outcomes, saying it is closely linked to disease.
“We are talking about poverty, poverty and disease are twins and anywhere there is poverty, disease follows.
Once 70 per cent of people are in poverty, all the indicators around health will become poor”, he said.
He added that declining purchasing power limits access to food and healthcare, worsening maternal and infant mortality rates nationwide.
He warned that without addressing poverty, health interventions would remain limited in impact, as many Nigerians cannot afford basic services or preventive care.
Kene also highlighted weaknesses in the primary healthcare system, noting that infrastructure alone is insufficient without community involvement.
“Primary health care is not about infrastructure alone, it is about what the community can do in the spirit of self-reliance”, he said.
He added that many facilities still lack basic amenities such as electricity, affecting vaccine storage and increasing operational costs.
He called for collective action involving government, communities, and development partners to strengthen primary healthcare delivery.
“Government has no capacity to solve the health problem in Nigeria alone so we must see PHC as part of our life”, he said.
Kene also urged community support for primary healthcare centres through funding and maintenance to improve sustainability and service delivery.
