Health costs climbed relentlessly in January 2026, even as Nigerians welcomed easing overall prices.
Health Costs Surge
Headline inflation fell slightly to 15.10%, down from 15.15% in December 2025, and far below January 2025’s 27.61%.
Consequently, bread, vegetables, and other essentials stabilised, giving households a small sense of relief.
Hospitals And HMOs Respond
However, healthcare followed a very different path.
Costs surged 30.35%, more than double the headline rate, leaving families struggling to manage rising medical bills.
For many, hospitals feel like places where the cost of care burdens them as much as illness itself.
The health index climbed steadily throughout 2025, rising from 111.1 points in February to 142.6 in January 2026.
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During this period, hospitals raised tariffs, and Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) increased premiums to cover higher drug and equipment costs.
Structural Pressures Persist
Meanwhile, government efforts to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare spending from 70% to 20% have yet to show visible results.
At the same time, other sectors offered some relief: food inflation slowed to 8.89%, and core inflation dropped to 17.72%.
Analysts point out that structural pressures continue to push healthcare prices upward.
Rising import costs for medicines, higher energy bills for clinics, and currency fluctuations all drive the problem.
Therefore, Nigerian households face a clear reality: even as general inflation eases, the relentless rise in health costs shapes spending patterns and strains family budgets across the country.
