Nigeria Health Watch has introduced a new tool to track healthcare promises from political parties and candidates before Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. This tool aims to push for clearer and measurable commitments to the health sector in the country.
The organisation launched the Health Manifesto Tracker in Abuja on Tuesday. This happened during its Health as a Political Issue Breakfast Meeting, themed “Driving Accountability and Citizen Engagement Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections.”
The meeting gathered policymakers, political figures, civil society groups, development partners, health advocates, and media representatives. They discussed how to make health a priority in political campaigns and governance as the elections approach.
Manifesto tracker
While speaking about the new tracker, Solomon Oladimeji, Senior Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation at Nigeria Health Watch, said the tool will document, assess, and monitor health commitments made by political parties and candidates before the 2027 elections.
Mr Oladimeji explained that the tracker will capture health-related promises made during the election period. It will help to see if these promises are specific, measurable, and achievable.
“We want to ensure that every health commitment made before the 2027 election is captured, analysed, and reported publicly,” he said.
He added that the implementation of these commitments will be tracked after the elections, working with partners. They will use publicly available government data, dashboards, advocacy, and other sources.
Mr Oladimeji mentioned that the tracker will also allow citizens to give feedback and ask questions about health promises made by political actors.
He said the organisation will review the commitments made before the elections and start tracking their implementation once elected officials take office.
He gave an example of how the tracking could work. He referred to the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which promised to revamp 17,000 primary healthcare centres.
Mr Oladimeji pointed out that available dashboards and other evidence can show how many facilities have been revitalised and track progress against government promises.
Nigeria’s health spending remains low
In a separate talk about health spending in Nigeria, Mr Oladimeji said low government investment is a big challenge for improving the country’s health outcomes.
He noted that the health sector received only about 3.7 percent of the 2026 national budget. This is far less than the 15 percent target set by African governments under the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
He added that state governments spent an average of about 5.2 percent of their budgets on health, while actual spending was even lower.
According to Mr Oladimeji, the difference between budget allocations and actual spending shows the need for better political accountability in the health sector.
He stated that Nigeria’s poor health outcomes, like high maternal and child mortality rates, highlight the lack of political commitment to healthcare.
Mr Oladimeji also talked about the financial burden of healthcare on families. He said many Nigerian homes face financial hardship due to the high reliance on out-of-pocket payments.
“Most Nigerian families today are one illness away from a catastrophic financial situation,” he said.
He believes Nigeria can learn from countries like Rwanda and Thailand, which have made great strides in improving their health systems through strong political commitment and innovative healthcare financing.
‘Health is a political choice’
At the meeting, Vivianne Ihekweazu, Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, said that the time leading to the 2027 elections is a chance for Nigerians to demand clear commitments from those seeking public office.
Ms Ihekweazu called health a political choice. She said government decisions on healthcare funding, access to medicines, maternal health, vaccination, and health insurance directly affect the wellbeing of Nigerians.
She mentioned that political manifestos often include broad promises to improve healthcare but often lack details about what will be done, how much will be invested, when the plans will be executed, and how success will be measured.
“The gap between a promise and a measurable commitment is really central to our discussions today,” she said.
Looking back at previous elections, Ms Ihekweazu said Nigeria Health Watch ran its Vote for Health Nigeria campaign before the 2019 and 2023 elections. This encouraged citizens to ask political candidates about their plans for healthcare.
She said the organisation plans to build on those efforts ahead of 2027 by not just asking candidates about their plans but also recording their responses and tracking their commitments after the elections.
‘Vote for health’
Meanwhile, Nigeria Health Watch is also engaging citizens through its #Vote4HealthNaija campaign. This campaign aims to make health a key issue in the 2027 elections.
Asari Ndem, Senior Communications Officer at the organisation, explained that the campaign is not for any political party or candidate. It seeks to get citizens, the media, civil society organisations, and political actors to pay more attention to healthcare.
“Our ambition is simple. We want citizens, the media, civil society, policymakers, and political actors to talk about health. We want those conversations to lead to meaningful commitments,” she said.
Ms Ndem encouraged Nigerians to ask political candidates how they plan to make healthcare more affordable, strengthen primary healthcare, improve maternal health, and provide necessary resources for health workers.
She also urged the media to go beyond covering political rallies and personalities. They should question candidates about their health plans.
She said the campaign will use citizen stories, interviews, media engagement, advocacy, and digital platforms to keep the experiences of Nigerians at the heart of healthcare discussions.
“Ask about health, talk about health, demand commitments on health, track those commitments, and when the time comes, vote for health,” she said.
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