Half of Nigerian households suffering chronic health conditions -Gatefield

An exclusive Gatefield’s new Longevity Factors Report has reveal a severe health crisis in Nigeria, where nearly half of households (49%) manage long-term health conditions, and 1 in 8 young adults aged 18 to 35 live with a chronic illness.

The pilot survey of 1,070 adults across Lagos, Kano, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) provides a look into the environmental, economic, and systemic drivers of premature mortality across the country.

The survey explored daily trade-offs, chronic conditions, catastrophic medical debt, environmental threats like extreme heat and air pollution, and where people seek care first, with this release highlighting initial findings.

The findings were presented by Adewunmi Emoruwa, Lead Strategist at Gatefield, at the opening of the Gatefield Health Summit 2026 on Wednesday in Abuja.

The Gatefield Health Summit is Africa’s annual health convening, uniting policymakers, global leaders, and communities to advance resilient, equitable, and locally driven health systems. Convened by Gatefield, it turns insight into policy and partnerships into lasting impact.

Convening global health leaders, the summit served as the backdrop for Emoruwa’s call for an immediate shift in Africa’s healthcare strategy, urging governments to adopt food systems as core public health infrastructure.

Alongside global health funders, policymakers, and civil society leaders, Emoruwa called for an immediate shift in Africa’s healthcare strategy, from an endless search for innovations to the things that work.

Speaking on the drivers of premature mortality in Africa, Emoruwa said to reporters, “A sick body is only half the tragedy. When you reach out for help, you realize the barrier isn’t just medical. It is systemic. Politics is cutting our lives short.

“Three out of every four people have experienced or witnessed corruption when using public services. The system is actively pushing people away. Because of this friction, 1 in 3 people completely missed a public health service they needed in the past year: a missed vaccine, a skipped screening, or a forgotten medication.”

In the key findings, the report shows that 49% of Nigerian households manage long-term health conditions and 1 in 8 young adults (ages 18–35) live with a chronic illness.

Also, 52% of respondents faced financial strain or went without treatment because of healthcare costs.

“To afford care, 27% borrowed money, 25% relied on family support, 14% cut back on food and necessities, and 13% sold personal assets.

“Families managing chronic illnesses are significantly more likely to be let down by public services: 1 in 3 (33%) missed out on a needed public health service – such as a vaccine, screening, or essential medication – in the past year, while 3 in 4 adults (75%) experienced or witnessed corruption when accessing public services during the same period,” the report said.

Environmental hazards like extreme heat (69.7%) and air pollution (54.0%) pose a far greater risk to people living with long-term conditions. For those managing asthma, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease, daily exposure to heat and bad air drastically increases the chance of severe complications and hospitalization.

Scaling Innovative Health Policies
These findings grounded the summit’s keynote speech on Scaling Innovative Health Policies, led by SA to the President on Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim Anas.

She stressed the urgent need to reform healthcare delivery, emphasizing that national health systems must be anchored by sustainable domestic financing and decisive legislative backing.

“There are health interventions that have been invented that are truly effective. It is counterproductive when these solutions don’t reach the people they are supposed to start with. These discussions cut across all stakeholders. The government remains committed to scaling existing solutions and partnering with development partners to improve Nigeria’s healthcare system,” Dr. Anas said.

Unlocking Scale to Accelerate Innovations
Building on these policy insights, experts and innovators at the summit examined strategic approaches to scaling global health solutions and accelerating health innovations across the continent.

“Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in healthcare. However, many existing AI systems rely on foreign training models that may not adequately reflect the realities, populations and healthcare needs of Nigeria and other African countries. Homegrown AI technologies can help address this gap by developing solutions that are better suited to local health challenges. This is why the conversations happening at the Gatefield Health Summit are timely and relevant,” said Siddhartha Prakash, WIPO Global Health Lead.

Food Systems as Preventive Health Infrastructure
Reinforcing the summit’s core focus on bridging the divide between food and health policy, stakeholders agreed that African healthcare systems must explore food as a means of preventing disease, rather than focusing solely on interventions that treat symptoms.

Stakeholders positioned food as vital preventive health infrastructure, urging policymakers to treat nutrition and primary care as inseparable pillars of longevity. Speakers emphasized the role of resilient food systems in determining quality of life and long-term health outcomes.

“We must use media to hold the companies that put the lives of Nigerians at risk the same way they use media to promote and sell their goods,” said Kofoworola Odozi, Editor at wearegst.