The House of Representatives has urged Nigeria’s tertiary health institutions, particularly university teaching hospitals, to urgently refocus on medical research, warning that neglect of research undermines national health security and the country’s preparedness for public health emergencies.
The call was made on Tuesday during the 2025 budget defence session, which involved federal university teaching hospitals, federal teaching hospitals, and federal medical centres.
Chairman of the House Committee on Health Institutions, Patrick Umoh, expressed concern that most teaching hospitals have drifted from their statutory mandate as centres of medical research, innovation, and specialist training, and are now functioning largely as general hospitals.
Umoh criticised Chief Medical Directors for allocating less than one per cent of their annual budgets to research, describing the figure as unacceptable for institutions expected to drive evidence-based medicine and health policy.
“Teaching hospitals are supposed to be centres of research. Yet you have never raised the issue of research funding during budget preparations. Instead, you focus almost entirely on infrastructure. That makes you part of the problem,” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s health system was exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country relied heavily on external research and foreign solutions.
“The pandemic caught us all unprepared. Let me mock you a little by saying that traditional medicine practitioners appeared to be doing better.
I have carried out several oversight visits, but no teaching hospital has ever taken me to a facility and said, ‘This is our research centre,’” Umoh said.
Teaching hospitals play a critical role in national health systems worldwide, serving as hubs for clinical research, disease surveillance, innovation, and the training of health professionals.
In countries with resilient health systems, breakthroughs in diagnostics, vaccines, and treatment protocols are often driven by sustained research activity within teaching hospitals.
In Nigeria, however, chronic underfunding, weak research infrastructure, and limited political prioritisation have constrained teaching hospitals’ ability to fulfil this role, leaving the country heavily dependent on foreign research outputs, even for diseases prevalent within its borders.
Health experts have warned that without deliberate investment in research, Nigeria risks remaining reactive rather than proactive in addressing health crises.
Responding on behalf of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors, Secretary of the Committee and Chief Medical Director of Jos University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Pokop Bupwatda, acknowledged the poor funding for research but blamed systemic budgetary constraints.
He said teaching hospitals usually set aside about one per cent of their budgets for research, but such allocations are often removed at the final stages of the budgeting process.
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Bupwatda appealed for increased overall funding for the health sector to enable recruitment of skilled personnel and improve staff welfare, which he said are essential to curbing the growing “japa syndrome.”
He disclosed that many federal health institutions are severely understaffed, particularly with medical doctors, and noted that even when recruitment approvals are granted, few doctors apply.
Despite these challenges, he said existing personnel continue to provide quality healthcare services and deserve recognition.
He also lamented that only about 30 per cent of the 2025 budget allocation has been released to federal tertiary health institutions, despite interventions by the House to improve funding levels.
Bupwatda identified power supply as a major operational challenge, noting that most federal hospitals are on Band A electricity tariffs, significantly increasing operating costs alongside heavy spending on diesel for generators.
He welcomed proposals to deploy solar mini-grids in teaching hospitals and federal medical centres, describing the initiative as a critical intervention.
He further appealed to the committee to approve take-off grants for about seven newly established federal health institutions, warning that without such support, they would struggle to commence effective operations.