Nigeria’s health sector faces acute challenges even as innovators redefine its future.
Public financing remains well below global benchmarks: the 2024 federal budget allocated about N1.34 trillion to health just around 4.6% of the total budget far short of the 15% Abuja Declaration target.
Many states also under‑spend on health relative to their budgets, with actual execution rates lagging allocations. Out‑of‑pocket payments, though improving, still account for a majority of health spending, reaching about 58.3% in 2024, exposing households to financial hardship.
Health outcomes remain uneven: Nigeria’s under‑five mortality rate is among the world’s highest at over 100 deaths per 1,000 live births, while infant and neonatal deaths also persist at worrying levels. Maternal mortality continues to drive concern, with the country contributing a substantial share of global maternal deaths due to limited access to quality obstetric care.
Despite these systemic gaps in funding, infrastructure, and outcomes, visionary women founders are leading solutions from supply chain innovations and primary care platforms to diagnostics, health education, and community‑driven services—transforming Nigeria’s health landscape and expanding access to quality care across communities.
Dr. Ngozi Onyia is a distinguished paediatrician, healthcare entrepreneur, and leader in Nigeria’s medical sector. A Fellow of the West African College of Physicians in Paediatrics, she also holds an Executive MBA from Lagos Business School and a Certificate in Travel Health from the International Society of Travel Health.
Over a career spanning nearly four decades, Dr. Onyia has worked across public and private healthcare, including a decade as Medical Adviser at Nigerian Breweries (2000–2010).
In 2010, she founded Paelon Memorial Hospital (PMH) in memory of her late daughter, Patricia, who passed away at age nine due to complications from a rare congenital condition. PMH has since grown into a multispecialty boutique hospital with two branches, including a flagship facility on Victoria Island, Lagos, focused on delivering high-reliability healthcare under the ethos, “Getting it right the first time, every time.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospital was repurposed as a treatment centre, positioning PMH at the forefront of private-sector pandemic response in Nigeria.
Dr. Onyia serves as a trustee for several organizations, including the Society for Quality Health in Nigeria, PharmAccess Nigeria, and the Boys to Men Foundation. She is also a member of multiple professional bodies, including the Paediatric Association of Nigeria, and has held leadership roles within the West African College of Physicians.
These healthcare juggernauts don’t get enough of their flowers. They’re doing amazing! Especially those on the services side