Health costs in Nigeria soared sharply in January 2026, with healthcare inflation reaching 30.35 per cent, more than double the headline inflation rate, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The surge reflects sustained pressure on households as drug prices, hospital treatment, and other medical services continue to climb, even as overall inflation moderated.
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the CPI indicated a year-on-year health index rise from 109.4 points in January 2025 to 142.6 points in January 2026. By comparison, the all-items index increased from 110.7 points to 127.4 points, corresponding to a headline inflation rate of 15.10 per cent. The figures highlight the disproportionate impact of rising healthcare costs on Nigerian families, particularly amid rising living expenses.
The NBS data show that the health index climbed steadily through 2025, moving from 111.1 points in February to 142.4 points in December, before inching up to 142.6 in January 2026. The persistence of high healthcare costs has been attributed to structural challenges, including rising import costs for pharmaceuticals, hospital energy expenses, and exchange rate pass-through effects.
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s June 2024 executive order aimed at reducing drug costs through the abolition of tariffs, excise duties, and VAT on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, the cost of medicines continues to rise. Many essential drugs have surged between 30 per cent and 100 per cent, placing heavy financial burdens on households that rely on out-of-pocket healthcare payments.
Brandspur Brand News highlights that public health experts have raised concerns that rising healthcare expenses are pushing Nigerian families closer to poverty. Limited access to subsidised services and escalating treatment costs are forcing households to make difficult trade-offs between timely medical care and basic survival needs.
The CPI report also revealed that healthcare contributed 0.91 percentage points to the headline inflation in January 2026, carrying a weight of 6.06 in the CPI basket. While food and core inflation moderated to 8.89 per cent and 17.72 per cent year-on-year respectively, healthcare costs remained “sticky,” signalling continued structural pressures in the sector.
The surge in healthcare inflation underscores the urgent need for effective policy implementation, improved local production of essential drugs, and targeted interventions to shield vulnerable households from spiralling medical costs.
