Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says the state requires about 40,000 additional doctors and another 40,000 nurses to adequately meet the healthcare needs of its rapidly growing population.
He also revealed that the state’s health sector needs at least ₦100 billion more than its current budget allocation to function effectively.
The governor made the disclosure on Thursday while declaring open the second Eko Health Convention at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu identified the shortage of healthcare professionals and inadequate funding as the two biggest challenges facing the state’s health sector, noting that international donor support for disease control programmes has continued to decline.
“Lagos requires about 40,000 doctors to properly serve its population, but we currently have only about 7,000. We also need roughly 40,000 more nurses,” he said.
“Every doctor in Lagos today is effectively doing the work of about 10 doctors.”
He added that the state’s healthcare system is operating with a funding gap of at least ₦100 billion, stressing that donor funding, which had supported many public health programmes for years, is no longer as reliable as it once was.
Despite the challenges, Sanwo-Olu said the government has intensified efforts to strengthen the healthcare workforce through large-scale recruitment, improved welfare packages and plans to establish a University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
“We have recruited aggressively and recently opened recruitment for clinical personnel across all 29 secondary healthcare facilities. We are also providing accommodation for health workers and improving working conditions to reduce migration and encourage professionals to return,” he said.
The governor also highlighted the progress recorded under the state’s health insurance scheme, Ilera Eko, revealing that more than 1.5 million Lagos residents have enrolled since the implementation of the compulsory social health insurance policy.
“As of the end of May, 1,502,994 Lagosians had registered under Ilera Eko, with women making up more than half of the beneficiaries,” he said.
He noted that increasing utilisation of the scheme indicates that enrollees are not only registering but are also accessing healthcare services.
Sanwo-Olu further disclosed that the Assistance in Distress initiative, managed by the Lagos State Health Management Agency, has saved 18 lives since it was launched in March.
According to him, the intervention has provided emergency medical care for victims of road accidents, surgical emergencies, obstetric complications and stroke cases without first demanding payment.
The governor also announced that the state is deploying technology to improve healthcare delivery through the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform, which is being introduced across public health facilities.
He explained that the digital platform will allow patients’ medical records to be accessed seamlessly across hospitals, strengthen disease surveillance and support evidence-based planning.
Sanwo-Olu added that the government is investing in artificial intelligence and other digital innovations to improve diagnosis, medical imaging and overall healthcare delivery.
Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to long-term reforms, the governor said the focus is on building sustainable healthcare institutions that will outlive his tenure.
“We have fulfilled our promises, and we are now building systems that will continue to serve Lagos long after this administration,” he said.
