The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Friday launched its 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, aiming to transform doctors from reactive protesters into active leaders in Nigeria’s health system.
The 5-year plan was unveiled in Abuja on Friday alongside its 2026 Annual Lecture Series, where government officials, health reform advocates, and senior physicians argued that Nigeria’s health crisis is no longer a problem of ideas but of leadership, accountability, and implementation.
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The roadmap outlines 24 objectives and 72 measurable outcomes across eight thematic areas, including institutional and organisational development, strategic communication and partnerships, improved patient care, clinical governance, doctors’ welfare and safety, professional collaboration, innovative financing, and monitoring and evaluation.
The event, themed “From Strategy to Impact: Repositioning the Nigerian Medical Association as the Catalyst for Health System Transformation”, reinforced the message that Nigeria’s health challenges are now a matter of leadership and accountability, not ideas.
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In his welcome address, NMA President, Bala Audu, described the strategic plan as a deliberate effort to reposition the NMA as a policy actor rather than a reactive pressure group.
Mr Audu, a professor noted that the document is not just a roadmap, but a statement of intent, adding that it reflects extensive consultation, hard lessons from the past, and a clear-eyed understanding of the realities facing doctors and the Nigerian health system.
“No strategy succeeds at the document level. Its success will depend on ownership, alignment, and collective commitment,” he said.
From advocacy to accountability
Delivering the keynote address, the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Abubakar Kana, said the NMA must use the 2026-2030 period to redefine its role in national health governance.
Mr Kana said between the period, the NMA must move from advocacy to accountability, and from strategy to impact.
He argued that progress in the health sector would come from measurable standards, enforcement, and sustained negotiation rather than industrial actions.
He warned that Nigeria’s persistent doctor migration, weak primary healthcare system, low health insurance coverage, and frequent industrial actions require a new approach driven by evidence and measurable outcomes.
“Nigeria trains excellent doctors, but we lose too many of them every year due to poor remuneration, unsafe working environments, and limited career progression,” he said.
He urged the association to champion structured remuneration frameworks, mentorship programmes for young doctors, mental health support, and evidence-based engagement with lawmakers.
Doctors beyond the hospital walls
During a panel session titled “Medical Leadership Beyond the Hospital: Doctors as System Architects, Advocates and Nation Builders,” panelists reinforced the message that doctors must play broader roles in governance and public policy.
The discussions questioned whether doctors should remain only caregivers or actively design and supervise health systems.
In his response, Head of Service, Ekiti State, Folakemi Olomojobi, said doctors were already operating beyond hospitals and should not be constrained by traditional roles.
Ms Olomojobi said doctors are already in communities, churches, finance, and public service, noting that their “influence must be everywhere, but we must also remain excellent clinicians.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the Health Sector Reform Coalition, Mustapha Lucky, said doctors are uniquely positioned to influence policy because of their daily interaction with patients and data.
Mr Lucky argued that Nigeria’s health system does not suffer from poor design but weak enforcement.
“We have beautiful designs. We have good policies. The problem is sanctions and incentives. We know what to do, but we don’t enforce it.”
Citing the National Health Act, he said many provisions already include penalties for non-compliance, but these are rarely applied.
“If you don’t trigger incentives and sanctions prescribed by law, implementation will not happen,” he added.
Responding to questions on what the NMA has done since its 2024 National Health Summit, Mr Audu, the President said the association has focused on engagement rather than confrontation.
“We have had strategic engagements with governments at federal and sub-national levels to address existing agreements and implementation gaps,” he added
He highlighted the ongoing collective bargaining agreement involving multiple health sector stakeholders as a major step toward stability.
“For the first time, all stakeholders are on one negotiating table to harmonise agreements and reduce contradictions that destabilise the system,” he said.
On her part, Ms Olomojobi said doctors must earn public trust if they want sustainable improvements in welfare and working conditions.
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She urged doctors to build trust with communities, policymakers, and opinion leaders, arguing that public advocacy is more powerful than professional protest.
“When doctors fight for their welfare, it looks like they’ve come again. But when the people you serve fight for you, no power can stop it,” she added.
Performance-based reforms
In his opening remarks, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, praised the NMA for prioritising long-term planning, describing it as evidence of leadership maturity.
Mr Salako said the federal government’s health reform agenda is centred on governance, accountability, and performance-based assessment, noting that digital tools are being deployed to measure outputs rather than titles.
“Our goal is to reward performance, not position. We want to measure what practitioners do and improve outcomes across the system,” he said.
He described the NMA as a valued partner in health sector reforms and urged doctors to sustain patriotism despite systemic challenges.
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