Federal budget cuts leave thousands of health workers without salaries

Over 1,500 health professionals under the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) have reportedly gone unpaid for nearly 20 months, raising serious concerns about the welfare of workers critical to the nation’s public health system.

The non-payment of salaries is linked to a Federal Government directive that cut off funding to certain government agencies, including EHCON. As a result, the council has struggled to meet its financial obligations, leaving many environmental health workers in limbo.

Established under Act 11 of 2002 (as amended), EHCON serves as Nigeria’s principal regulatory body for environmental health. The council is responsible for overseeing practices that help prevent disease outbreaks, protect public health, and promote sanitary living conditions across the country.

The impact of these professionals was especially evident during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when environmental health officers played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s successful response to the deadly virus. Their efforts helped contain the spread of Ebola and earned the country international praise.

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Also, in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, the environmental health officers were deployed in all entry borders, including airports, sea ports and land borders. Most importantly, the regulators were also at the field carrying out internal and external decontamination of premises to prevent further spread of the virus.

Recall that in 2023, a memo signed by the former Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, stated that certain agencies and regulatory bodies would become fully self-funded and responsible for personnel, overhead and capital expenditures.

“I wish to inform you that the Presidential Committee on Salaries, at its 13th meeting, approved the discontinuation of budgetary allocation to professional bodies/councils effective 31st December 2026,” the memo read.

Reports confirmed that some of the 30 agencies would be funded up until 2026.

For the rest, funding by the Federal Government would cease effective December 2024.

By 2024, a list of 26 councils was published by the Federal Government through the Budget Office.

The list confirmed that funding cuts would begin that year, saving the country an estimated N27.72bn.

The Environmental and Health Council of Nigeria was affected by the budget cost, creating a deficit in the annual overhead and personnel costs of the council.

In 2024, there was an appeal by the then Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, to exempt health agencies from the planned defunding.

Our correspondent learnt that 13 agencies under the Ministry of Health were exempted, leading to the Federal Government releasing over N6bn for the payment of their salaries.

Meanwhile, a letter by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, addressed to President Bola Tinubu on April 30, 2025, appealed for leniency on behalf of the health workers.

“With utmost regards, I write to intimate Your Excellency on the correspondence from the Federal Ministry of Environment and Sanitation with Ref. NO. FMENV/PRS/757/TI/05, dated 16th April 2025, on the funding of certain professional bodies/councils in the health sector, including the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, which was discontinued following a decision by the Presidential Committee on Salaries (copy attached for ease of reference).

“Kindly recall Your Excellency, that Federal Executive Council had, at its EC(2024) 1st Meeting, Conclusions 12, AOB II, pg 17 of Wednesday 17 January 2024, noted the appeal for continued funding of regulatory agencies including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the Medical Laboratory Science Council, and the Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria, among others through government budgetary allocations, in consideration of the critical role of these regulatory bodies in safeguarding the public from unprofessional practices and supporting the healthcare delivery system.

“It was also confirmed that funds had been earmarked in the 2024 Appropriation Act for the continued funding of health sector regulatory agencies.

“However, the EHCON, which is under the environmental sector, was excluded and therefore received zero allocation in the 2024 budget under the Federal Ministry of Environment, where the agency is domiciled.

“This has led to severe financial hardship for the agency and its staff due to the non-payment of salaries and operational expenses from January to December 2024.”

In the memo, the SGF appealed to Tinubu to consider and approve the funding of the EHCON, given that their activities included the well-being of society.

“In the light of the foregoing, Your Excellency may consider and approve the funding of the EHCON since their activities also include regulation of environmental health practitioners, who are responsible for preventive health, sanitary and well-being of society to address the Ministry of Environment’s concerns regarding EHCON’s exclusion from the funding provision,” the letter read.

(Punch)