Senate appeals for take-off grants for newly established hospitals to fund operations and strengthen healthcare services nationwide

The National Assembly Joint Committee on Health has appealed to the Joint Committee on Appropriations to provide financial provisions for take-off grants to support newly established hospitals across Nigeria.

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Senator Ipalibo Banigo, chairman of the joint committee, made the appeal on Wednesday while submitting the harmonised report of the Senate and House Committees on Health on the 2026 budget proposals of ministries, departments and agencies.

Senator Ipalibo Banigo explained that the take-off grants would provide critical start-up funding to ensure the effective and efficient operation of the new health facilities.

According to her, the grants are essential to meet the hospitals’ immediate operational needs.

The newly established hospitals include the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia in Nasarawa State; the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Akure in Ondo State; the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo in Benue State; and the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ila-Orangun in Osun State.

Banigo said the government is targeting six per cent of the total budget allocation, net of liabilities, for investment in the health sector to strengthen healthcare systems nationwide.

“The aim is to revitalise our hospitals with medication and better resources, procuring essential drugs for distribution to the public and ensuring quality healthcare facilities nationwide,” she stated.

The senator put the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s 2026 budget proposal at N1,170,495,177,648 for personnel, N57,031,955,090 for overhead, and N924,251,647,868 for capital expenditure, bringing the total to N2,136,248,295,543.

During the review of the 2025 budget performance and 2026 budget defence, the committee observed that most hospitals had yet to receive 100 per cent of their 2024 appropriations.

Senator Banigo noted that although the 2024 allocation had been uploaded, only 60 per cent of payments had been released, and in some cases, only 30 per cent of the funds had been paid.

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Deputy Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Mohammed Monguno, assured that the committee would examine the matter to ensure timely funding for the hospitals.