By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) is positioning itself for a major leap in healthcare delivery, research and medical training, as its management presses for improved funding in the 2026 federal budget after a financially constrained 2025.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday after an interface with the Senate Committee on Health, the Chief Medical Director of ABUTH, Professor Yusuf Jibril, said the hospital’s ambitions were sharply curtailed last year by inadequate fund releases, limiting its ability to fully deploy clinical services and expand research output.
According to him, the 2026 budget offers a critical turning point.
“Once the funds we requested for 2026 are released, we will see substantial improvements in the health sector,” Prof. Jibril told journalists.
“The appropriation before the National Assembly is sufficient to strengthen our clinical services, promote research and train young doctors, specialists and consultants.”
He stressed that teaching hospitals like ABUTH sit at the intersection of patient care, medical education and scientific discovery, warning that underfunding any of the three weakens the entire health system.
Prof. Jibril noted that while funding gaps in 2025 slowed expansion plans, ABUTH refused to stand still, turning instead to internal innovation to keep operations running and services stable.
He revealed that the hospital now runs a bottled water production facility and a pharmaceutical production centre manufacturing hand sanitisers and hand wash ventures designed to generate internally sourced revenue.
In a major boost to both self-sufficiency and emergency preparedness, the CMD disclosed that ABUTH has also installed a large-scale oxygen production plant capable of producing up to 200 cylinders per day.
“Our daily requirement is about 60 cylinders,” he said. “The excess is sold, and the proceeds are ploughed back into hospital operations.”
Health sector analysts say the oxygen plant alone places ABUTH in a stronger position than many tertiary hospitals, particularly in a post-pandemic era where oxygen availability has become a strategic necessity.
Beyond internal revenue, Prof. Jibril said the hospital is aggressively pursuing research collaborations and international grants, with a focus on attracting projects that include indirect cost components to strengthen infrastructure and service delivery.
“These grants are not just about research outputs,” he explained. “The indirect costs help us improve facilities, support staff and enhance patient care.”
The CMD expressed confidence that with timely release of 2026 funds, ABUTH would move from financial survival mode to structured growth, expanding its role as a centre for training, innovation and advanced clinical care.
As Lawmakers continue scrutiny of the health sector’s budget, ABUTH’s presentation underscored a broader national question: whether Nigeria’s teaching hospitals will be funded merely to exist or empowered to lead the future of healthcare.
For Prof. Jibril, the answer lies squarely in what happens next with the 2026 budget.
