Anambra Health Sector Budgetary Analysis: Saving More Lives (Part 5)

The 13% increase is therefore less about new bricks and more about finishing, equipping, staffing, and scaling what has already been built, while adding two crown-jewel projects that will redefine healthcare in South-East Nigeria for decades.

Accordingly, among areas of new healthcare investments by the administration of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, is the completion of the Anambra State College of Nursing Sciences.

The ultra-modern campus should reach 100% completion and begin admitting its first set of students in the 2026/2027 academic session, ending Anambra’s decades-long dependence on other states for nursing training.

The construction and equipping of the new Specialist Teaching Hospital (with Oncology focus) will also follow. This will be Anambra’s first purpose-built tertiary facility for cancer care, cardiology, and advanced diagnostics, dramatically reducing medical tourism by Nigerians to India and Egypt.

In the final-phase renovation and equipping of all 326 Primary Health Centres, solar power, boreholes, staff quarters, diagnostic equipment, and drug revolving funds will be fully installed. Every ward in Anambra will have a functional, 24/7 PHC by the end of 2026.

Maternal health is crucial to the overall healthcare effectiveness. So, there will be scaling of the  free maternal and child health programme. Beyond the existing free antenatal and delivery services (already the most successful in Nigeria with zero maternal mortality in recorded cases), the 2026 budget will expand coverage to free treatment of common childhood illnesses and selected chronic diseases for the poorest families.

Towards optimal operational take-off of the four new general hospitals, full staffing, specialist recruitment, and equipping of the facilities commissioned in the first term will be dutifully implemented. The Soludo administration will also strengthen emergency and referral systems with the   expansion of the state ambulance fleet, telemedicine hubs in PHCs, and integration of the Trauma Centre with the new teaching hospital.

As all the above budgetary investments are made, Anambra State will be enjoying a most optimal healthcare efficiency. Near-zero preventable maternal and under-5 mortality will be a reality. With every community now within 5-10 km of a functional PHC and free services for the poorest, Anambra is on course to achieve health outcomes comparable to upper-middle-income countries.

In an era of relentless ‘japa’ syndrome in Nigeria’s medical field, Anambra’s healthcare investments will ensure the retention of medical talent.

The new College of Nursing and Specialist Teaching Hospital will reverse the brain drain of doctors and nurses, making Anambra a net importer of medical professionals for the first time.

There will be huge savings for families and the state as well.

Every cancer patient treated locally instead of abroad saves families ₦15-40 million per case. Multiply that by hundreds of patients annually and the economic relief can be quite significant. Ndi Anambra should expect a boost to life expectancy and productivity. A healthier population means more working-age adults, fewer sick days, and higher economic output, the ultimate dividend of human-capital investment.

Soon, Anambra State will begin to enjoy medical tourism hub status. Once the Oncology and advanced-care wings are fully operational, patients from Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia, and Delta will begin coming to Anambra to benefit from these life-saving health investments by Governor Soludo.

So, the 13% budgetary increase for the healthcare sector is the calm, confident move of a Soludo government that has already done the heavy lifting and now focuses on perfection. It is the budget equivalent of a relay runner who has opened a massive lead in the first three legs and now cruises on the anchor leg, knowing victory is assured.

By the end of 2026, Anambra will possess one of the most complete, equitable, and modern public health ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa, built from the village ward to tertiary specialist care, all under one integrated system.

Health, in Governor Soludo’s vision, is not an expenditure line; it is the foundation on which every other ambition (industrialisation, infrastructure, education, security) ultimately stands or falls.