The Federal Government has unveiled plans to establish a new Armed Forces College of Medicine and Health Sciences to boost military medical readiness and tackle Nigeria’s doctor shortage.
The decision was reached at a high-level meeting involving the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sai’d Ahmed, Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa, Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, the Director-General of the Ministry of Defence Health Implementation Programme, and the leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
According to the Minister of Education, the proposed College is designed as a strategic intervention to address critical manpower gaps within the Armed Forces while expanding the nation’s overall medical training capacity.
Dr. Alausa noted that Nigeria’s population of over 240 million contrasts sharply with an estimated deficit of about 340,000 doctors, underscoring the need for innovative and scalable training models.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education has already increased annual medical school admissions from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000, with projections to reach approximately 19,000 in the coming years. The new College, he said, forms part of this broader expansion strategy.
In compliance with the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium on new tertiary institutions and a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian Defence Academy will establish the College within its existing university framework.
The institution will be located in Lagos State and linked to accredited federal and military hospitals to ensure robust clinical training partnerships.
