Abia Ranks Number One In Nigeria’s Health Preparedness

Abia State, under Governor Alex Otti’s leadership, has emerged as the most health-prepared state in Nigeria after ranking first in the 2025 SBM Health Preparedness Index (HPI) released on Thursday.

The state achieved the highest score of 26.85 out of 100 to top the chart for the first time since the index was introduced.

According to the report, “Abia State takes the top position in the HPI for the first time, scoring 26.85. Its performance is buoyed by the highest health spending per person (N22,926, $15.65), a healthy percentage (14.8%) of its budget allocated to health and one of the country’s highest HDI (0.674).”

The SBM Health Preparedness Index assesses the preparedness of Nigeria’s 36 states to respond to health emergencies and deliver effective healthcare services.

The index measures key indicators such as doctor-to-population ratio, infant and child mortality rates, human development index, health budget per capita, and overall fiscal commitment to health.

Quoting the report, “The highest score recorded across all 36 states is 26.85 (Abia State), indicating that no state in Nigeria achieved a 30% rating for health preparedness. This finding serves as a stark metric of the country’s overall vulnerability.”

The HPI is also calculated using the latest available data, examining state-level budgetary commitments, human resource capacity, and key health outcomes.

In his 2024 presentation of the N750bn appropriation bill, Governor Otti announced that Abia’s health sector would receive about 15 per cent of the total budget, alongside other major investments in infrastructure and social welfare.

Otti said during the presentation: “The highlights of the projects to be executed with the passage of this budget include the rehabilitation and supply of equipment to four General Hospitals for N13 billion. Also, N9 billion will go into the purchase of medical equipment for various health facilities, and N8.6 billion will be channelled into the construction of the permanent site of Abia State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Aba.”

The governor further disclosed plans to invest N5 billion in the construction of the new College of Nursing Sciences at Umunneato General Hospital and N4 billion in the rehabilitation and reticulation of pipelines for the Umuahia Regional Water Scheme to provide potable water across communities.

Other top-performing states in the 2025 HPI include Ogun (23.52), Lagos (23.08), and Osun (22.26), which the report says “demonstrate consistency in their health investments.”

In contrast, several northern states continue to struggle with severe healthcare deficits. The report identified Kebbi (13.31) and Katsina (12.54) as the lowest-ranked states, alongside Ebonyi (12.85), which for the first time placed a southern state among the bottom five.

The report also identified the “Japa Syndrome” as a “catastrophic crisis driven by the mass exodus of medical professionals.”

It revealed that the average doctor-to-patient ratio across Nigeria now stands at 1:15,361, which is far below the World Health Organisation’s standard. Bauchi recorded the worst ratio of 1:54,249.

The report commended states like Abia for demonstrating “relative strength in their health systems” and setting a standard for fiscal commitment in the sector.

It said many stages, particularly in the northern region, “are grappling with profound challenges compounded by deep-rooted infrastructural deficits.”

Abia Ranks Number One In Nigeria’s Health Preparedness is first published on The Whistler Newspaper