WHEN Nigerians ask why their nation’s hospitals lack critical equipment, they find their answer in the annual budgets. In the 2026 budget, 31 teaching hospitals operated by the Federal Government will spend an average of 64 percent of their budget on personnel costs.
This implies that only 36 percent of the budget will be spent on capital projects, where equipment falls into. Among the teaching hospitals which committed most of their budgets to personnel costs is the Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which budgeted 87 percent of its 2026 budget to personnel. Out of the teaching hospital’s N17.646 billion total budget, the management of the school voted N15.398 billion on personnel costs.
The Federal Teaching Hospital Abakiliki is another hospital topping this list. It is spending 82 percent of its N40.352 billion on personnel, leaving a meagre 18 percent budget for capital projects.
Also, the Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri will spend 85.25 percent of its budget on personnel, while the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital has devoted 75 percent of its expenditure to the payment of salaries and other personnel expenses. Also, the University of Calabar Teaching is committing 77 percent of its budget to personnel.
Others with high commitment to personnel in the face of shortages of hospital equipment are: Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital Otukpo (75.3 percent), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (79.3 percent), Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (89 percent), Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital Akure (73 percent), and University of Benin Teaching Hospital (78 percent).
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Others are: University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada (68 percent), Usman Dam Fodio University Teaching Hospital (65 percent), and Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital Yola (63 percent).
Teaching hospitals with lower personnel spend
There are, however, teaching hospitals with low personnel costs. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital’s personnel cost is 52.43 percent, while Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital will spend just 42.2 percent budget on the same item.
Similarly, University College Hospital Ibadan will spend 53.17 percent of its budget on personnel, with Lagos University Teaching Hospital committing 51 percent expenditure to personnel. Also, the Federal Medical Centre Abuja will spend just 47 percent of its budget on personnel, while the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital is committing just 47.3 percent of its expenditure to personnel cost, leaving a bigger chunk for capital projects such as equipment.
Also, the Federal University of Health Services Ila-Orangun, Osun State, will commit 35.3 percent to personnel cost, while the Federal Teaching Hospital Kastina will spend 48.05 percent on personnel cost. The percentage of the personnel cost of the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe is 55 percent, while that of Rasheed Shekoni Federal Teaching Hospital, Dutse, Jigawa State, is 58.4 percent.
For the Federal University Teaching Hospital Wukari, Taraba State, the personnel cost this year makes up 57 percent of the budget, while of the Federal University Teaching Hospital Lafia is 57 percent.
Higher budgeting on personnel costs mean lower funds for capital projects, experts say. In the case of Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which commited 87 percent of its 2026 budget to personnel cost, only 13 of the budget will go to capital projects. Similarly, in the case of Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri, which will spend 85.25 percent of its budget on personnel, only 14,75 percent of the spending plan goes to capital projects.
Lack of equipment in Nigerian teaching hospitals
Nigerian teaching hospitals lack equipment such as catheterisation laboratory, C-arm, dialysis machines, mechanical ventilators, intra-operative imaging and CT scanners.
As of 2022, Nigeria had only 13 radiotherapy machines, according to President of the Nigerian Cancer Society, Dr Adamu Umar. Only 8 teaching hospitals in Nigeria that had radiotherapy machines for tackling cancer as of 2020.
Several hospitals in Africa’s most populous nation lacks basic sugrgical equipment such as retractors, approximators, suction instruments, forcepts, among others. The lack of the basic equipment often leads to delays, worsening medical conditions and death.
In an article, Oluwaseyi Akpor, Timothy Akingbade, and Olaolorun Olorunfemi, noted that healthcare financing was ‘inadequate,’ with the allocation for health barely exceeding 7 percent of the nation’s total budget in Nigeria. “The allocation clearly falls below the April 2001, Abuja declaration of allocating a minimum of 15% of national budget to health. Furthermore, there is an uneven allocation of finance and facilities in the three tiers of healthcare system in Nigeria (primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare). The inadequate budgetary provision for health has resulted in the lack of adequate manpower, equipment and facilities available to provide quality care for citizens,” they argued.
However, what is clear from this analysis is that the allocation itself, no matter how small, is not being deployed appropriately to meet the needs of the patients.
“When you allocate 64 percent of your budget to personnel, your capital projects will suffer,” said an Abuja-based medical practitioner, Dr Ume Odinkalu.
“Little winder we have shortages of equipment in several teaching hospitals. You go to some public hospitals, you don’t even find hospital stretchers, defibrillators and surgical tables, which is a shame.”
However, a surgeon, Dr Maxwell Ajibola, had a different view. According to him, the major reason for the rise in personnel costs could be to retain health workers constantly leaving Nigeria for greener pastures elsewhere.
“The level of doctor exodus in Nigeria is high. Maybe the high personnel expenditure is meant as a moral booster and to retain them,” he said.
“I am not in the mind of all teaching hospitals, but this factor must also not be ignored.”
