Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the state is facing a shortage of about 40,000 doctors and another 40,000 nurses as its growing population continues to put pressure on the healthcare system.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Thursday at the second Eko Health Convention held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. He identified shortage of health workers and inadequate funding as the two major challenges facing the sector.
The governor said Lagos currently has about 7,000 doctors but needs roughly 40,000 to adequately serve its population. He also disclosed that the health sector required at least N100 billion above existing budgetary provisions to meet its needs, while donor funding for disease control is declining.
Sanwo-Olu said the state was responding to the workforce shortage through increased recruitment, improved welfare packages and plans to establish a University of Medicine and Health Sciences. He added that accommodation had also been provided for health workers to encourage retention and attract professionals back to the state.
On healthcare financing, the governor said more than 1.5 million residents were enrolled in the state’s Ilera Eko health insurance scheme as of May, with women accounting for more than half of the enrollees. He said utilisation of the scheme was also increasing, indicating that more residents were accessing healthcare.
He further disclosed that the state was deploying digital technology, including the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform, to improve access to medical records, disease surveillance and healthcare planning.
The government, he added, was also exploring artificial intelligence and digital innovation to strengthen diagnosis, medical imaging and service delivery.
