Sufferers and supporters bemoan inadequate state financing for high blood pressure treatment

Patient advocates, healthcare experts, and civil society representatives have condemned the Federal Government's perceived lack of attention to hypertension and other non-communicable diseases, calling for increased funding and public awareness.

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They also demanded improved access to screening and treatment, making this appeal on Thursday during the Executive Media, Patient and Civil Society Dialogue on Hypertension Financing, which was convened under the Advocacy Partnership for Hypertension Financing and Patient Voice Project.

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Prof. Emmanuel Alhassan, Country Lead for Health System Strengthening at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, noted that hypertension affects millions of Nigerians but remains largely neglected in terms of government funding and public attention.

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Alhassan stated that many Nigerians are living with hypertension unknowingly due to inadequate awareness and poor access to routine screening, citing statistics that show millions of Nigerians are hypertensive.

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He emphasized the need for prioritization, saying "we want it to be prioritised, we want the government to prioritise funding for non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension," and lamented that funding for hypertension remains disproportionately low despite the growing burden of the disease.

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Alhassan pointed out that for 2025, not even a single kobo was released for hypertension, and urged the media and communities to come together and advocate for change, supporting the NCDs Division of the Federal Ministry of Health.

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He noted that issues around non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, should be prioritised and funding made available, highlighting that an estimated 27 million Nigerians are living with hypertension.

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Alhassan observed that the disease receives less than four per cent of the attention and funding allocated to other health conditions, stating "there is a huge burden of the disease, yet less than three to four per cent in terms of attention and funding is paid compared to other disease areas."

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He stressed the critical role of the media in educating Nigerians about hypertension and encouraging regular blood pressure checks, saying "the media has a role to play in getting Nigerians to know that they might just be walking around with hypertension without knowing it."

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Alhassan also called on the media to help advocate to the government, private sector, and individuals to invest more in non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, and to work with civil society organisations to make ongoing interventions more visible.

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Francis Okonkwo, Head of Advocacy, Patient-led Advocacy Working Group on Non-Communicable Diseases, urged Nigerians to make blood pressure checks a routine practice, warning that hypertension often shows no symptoms until life-threatening complications occur.

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Okonkwo shared his personal experience, recounting how a friend with dangerously high blood pressure died shortly after being discharged from hospital, and described hypertension as a "silent killer".

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He narrated how his friend's blood pressure was above 200, and despite treatment, he died at home, saying "I had a friend who suddenly started shouting that his eyes wanted to come out, we rushed him to the hospital and the doctor told me he couldn’t explain why my friend was still alive because his blood pressure was above 200."

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Okonkwo shared his own struggle with hypertension, which was triggered by emotional stress that deprived him of sleep for months, but said he learned to manage the stress and his blood pressure started going down.

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He warned that hypertension is increasingly affecting younger Nigerians, contrary to the common belief that it is only a disease of old age, saying "it doesn’t need to be somebody who is old, when I had it, I wasn’t old, today hypertension is not about old age."

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Okonkwo expressed concern over unhealthy lifestyles, including excessive consumption of salt, sugar, alcohol and other harmful substances, which are contributing to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in the country.

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He urged journalists to intensify public education on hypertension and other NCDs, saying sustained awareness campaigns would encourage preventive health-seeking behaviour among Nigerians.

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The dialogue brought together journalists, patients, healthcare professionals, and civil society organisations to discuss sustainable financing for hypertension prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, while advocating stronger government commitment to tackling the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria.