Lagos Needs 40,000 More Doctors and N100bn Extra to Fix Health Sector — Sanwo-Olu

By Victor Idajil

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has raised the alarm over a deep crisis in the state’s health sector, saying Lagos is short of about 40,000 doctors, 40,000 nurses, and at least N100 billion in funding.

Speaking on Thursday at the 2nd Eko Health Convention in Victoria Island, the governor said the current workforce cannot meet the demands of Lagos’ growing population.  

“Lagos needs about 40,000 doctors to serve this population properly. We have about 7,000. We need roughly 40,000 more nurses. Every doctor in Lagos today is, in effect, doing the work of 10,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

He described funding and manpower as the two biggest gaps. According to him, the gap between what is budgeted and what the health system actually needs is “at least N100bn.”  
He also warned that the era of heavy donor support is over.  
“Donor financing, which supported much of our disease control for two decades, is contracting sharply and will not return in its old form,” he said.

To close the workforce gap, Sanwo-Olu said the state has launched large-scale recruitment and improved welfare packages for health workers. Clinical hiring began last month across all 29 general hospitals in Lagos.  

“We have built accommodation for health workers. We are improving conditions to slow the departures and, increasingly, to attract colleagues back,” he said.  
The state is also planning a University of Medicine and Health Sciences to produce more doctors, nurses and specialists locally.

The governor disclosed that enrollment in the state’s compulsory health insurance scheme, Ilera Eko, has crossed 1.5 million.  
“As at the end of May this year, the figure stood at 1,502,994. More than half are women,” he noted, adding that more people are actually using the insurance to get treatment, not just registering.

He also pointed to the Lagos State Health Management Agency’s Assistance in Distress initiative, which covers emergency treatment without upfront payment. Since it started in March, he said, 18 people have been saved from road accidents, surgery complications, childbirth emergencies and stroke.  
“Eighteen people who are alive because the system did not stop to ask whether they could afford to be,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos is deploying the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform in public hospitals to connect patient records, strengthen disease tracking and support data-driven planning. The government is also investing in artificial intelligence for diagnosis, medical imaging and service delivery.

He stressed that his administration is focused on sustainable reforms rather than quick fixes.  
“We have kept our promises. Now we are building the systems that will keep them long after us,” he said, referencing _Ilera Eko_, the health districts and the new digital platform as key legacies.