Africa Health Report

UNFPA Urges Nigeria to Address Health Worker Push Factors UNFPA, Country Rep. Muriel Mafico

UNFPA Urges Nigeria to Address Health Worker Push Factors

Oluwatobi Adu July 20, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says Nigeria health worker migration should not be...

Nigeria Hired 37,000 Health Workers. Why Are Doctors, Nurses Still Leaving? A crowded public hospital waiting area

Nigeria Hired 37,000 Health Workers. Why Are Doctors, Nurses Still Leaving?

Korede Abdullah July 16, 2026

LAGOS, Nigeria – Every day, Nigeria loses some of its most experienced doctors and nurses to hospitals...

Academy Urges Action on Maternal Mortality Academy of Medical Sciences

Academy Urges Action on Maternal Mortality

Mirian Gom July 9, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – The maternal mortality in Nigeria crisis remains unacceptable and requires urgent action alongside stronger...

El-Rufai’s Wife Warns of Healthcare Intimidation

Only 5% of Fevers Are Malaria LAGOS, Nigeria - Only five per cent of patients presenting with fever in Lagos are confirmed to have malaria, prompting the state government to overhaul its approach to diagnosing and treating febrile illnesses, Health Commissioner Akin Abayomi says. Speaking after a fever management session hosted by the World Bank Nigeria Country Office, Abayomi said findings from the World Bank-supported IMPACT Project show that routinely treating every fever as malaria is fuelling misdiagnosis, unnecessary drug use and antimicrobial resistance. The study assessed nearly 78,000 patients with fever across 392 health facilities, including community pharmacies and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets, making it Nigeria's largest field evaluation of malaria diagnosis. According to Abayomi, malaria was historically diagnosed in about 70 per cent of fever cases, but laboratory testing found the actual prevalence to be only five per cent. "For decades, fever has become synonymous with malaria in our communities. Today, the evidence tells a different story," he said. He said the findings were confirmed using World Health Organization-accredited malaria rapid diagnostic tests, validated through expert microscopy and polymerase chain reaction testing. The commissioner announced that Lagos has adopted quality-assured Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) as the first-line diagnostic tool for all suspected malaria cases. The state is also working with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to expand access to accredited malaria test kits in community pharmacies and medicine vendor outlets. Abayomi said Lagos has introduced a new fever management strategy built on the principle of "Test. Treat. Track." Under the approach, every patient with fever will receive laboratory testing before treatment begins, while confirmed malaria cases will trigger surveillance and environmental interventions to reduce transmission. He stressed that patients who test negative for malaria should be assessed for other illnesses, including dengue fever, Lassa fever, respiratory viral infections, bacterial diseases and inflammatory conditions. "Perhaps the most important message is this: A negative malaria test is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of finding the true cause of a patient's illness," Abayomi said.

El-Rufai’s Wife Warns of Healthcare Intimidation

Mirian Gom July 9, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – Healthcare intimidation in Nigeria could deepen the country’s medical workforce crisis if doctors are...

Experts Demand Better Pay, Tighter Sachet Water Regulation in Oyo

Korede Abdullah April 30, 2026

IBADAN, Nigeria – Health and laboratory experts have called for improved wages for laboratory professionals and stricter...

Nigeria Faces Critical Shortage of Public Health Physicians – Experts Warn Nigerian doctors working in a public hospital

Nigeria Faces Critical Shortage of Public Health Physicians – Experts Warn

Mirian Gom April 28, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria is grappling with a severe shortage of public health physicians, a crisis driven...

Experts Warn Unsafe Sachet Water, Demand Better Pay for Lab Workers Bags of sachet “pure water” stacked in roadside cooler in Nigeria

Experts Warn Unsafe Sachet Water, Demand Better Pay for Lab Workers

Chukwu Obinna April 24, 2026

OYO, Nigeria – Laboratory professionals raise alarm over unsafe sachet water production and poor wages, warning that...

Nursing Provost Urges Better Pay to Curb Brain Drain Nursing students at matriculation ceremony

Nursing Provost Urges Better Pay to Curb Brain Drain

Koko Maxwella March 29, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Provost of Oasis College of Nursing Sciences, Mary Oritimehin has calls for improved...

Nigeria Health Crisis: Workforce Shortage, Drug Imports Threaten System – NAS Dr. Odubanjo speaking on Nigeria’s health workforce crisis in Lagos

Nigeria Health Crisis: Workforce Shortage, Drug Imports Threaten System – NAS

Korede Abdullah March 26, 2026

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) has warned that Nigeria’s worsening shortage of health...

Nigeria Trains Them, Others Pay Them: The Quiet Exodus Emptying Our Wards Kubwa General Hospital nurses on duty

Nigeria Trains Them, Others Pay Them: The Quiet Exodus Emptying Our Wards

Oluwafunbi Bello February 18, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria – On a humid afternoon inside Kubwa General Hospital, the rhythm of care never slows....

brain drain

UNFPA Urges Nigeria to Address Health Worker Push Factors

Nigeria Hired 37,000 Health Workers. Why Are Doctors, Nurses Still Leaving?

Academy Urges Action on Maternal Mortality

El-Rufai’s Wife Warns of Healthcare Intimidation

Experts Demand Better Pay, Tighter Sachet Water Regulation in Oyo

Nigeria Faces Critical Shortage of Public Health Physicians – Experts Warn

Experts Warn Unsafe Sachet Water, Demand Better Pay for Lab Workers

Nursing Provost Urges Better Pay to Curb Brain Drain

Nigeria Health Crisis: Workforce Shortage, Drug Imports Threaten System – NAS

Nigeria Trains Them, Others Pay Them: The Quiet Exodus Emptying Our Wards

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