Health inflation rose sharply to 30.35 per cent in January 2026, highlighting sustained pressure on households as the cost of drugs, hospital treatment, and other medical services remained elevated despite a moderation in headline inflation.

The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that while overall inflation eased to 15.10 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, health inflation accelerated significantly from 20.09 per cent recorded in January 2025.

The report stated that the Consumer Price Index declined to 127.4 points in January 2026 from 131.2 points in December 2025, reflecting a slowdown in the overall price rise. However, the health component continued its upward trend.

An analysis of the index figures shows that the health index rose from 109.4 points in January 2025 to 142.6 points in January 2026, translating to a 30.35 per cent year-on-year increase.

In contrast, the all-items index increased from 110.7 points in January 2025 to 127.4 points in January 2026, corresponding to an annual inflation rate of 15.10 per cent.

This indicates that health inflation was more than double the headline rate, showing the disproportionate impact of rising medical costs on households.

The data also show that the health index climbed steadily through 2025. It moved from 111.1 points in February to 122.4 in March and 126.2 in April. By July, it had risen to 129.9 points, and by August to 135.3. The index reached 142.3 in November and remained elevated at 142.4 in December before inching up to 142.6 in January 2026.

Despite broad-based moderation in food and core inflation, health costs have remained sticky. The NBS reported that headline inflation eased slightly to 15.10 per cent in January 2026 from 15.15 per cent in December 2025 and was 12.51 percentage points lower than the 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at minus 2.88 per cent in January 2026, indicating that average prices declined compared to December. Food inflation slowed to 8.89 per cent year-on-year from 29.63 per cent a year earlier, while core inflation declined to 17.72 per cent from 25.27 per cent in January 2025.

However, the divisional breakdown showed that health contributed 0.91 percentage points to the headline inflation rate in January 2026. With the health division carrying a weight of 6.06 in the CPI basket, sustained increases in this segment have significant implications for household spending.

Health services form part of the broader services index, which recorded a 22.17 per cent year-on-year rise in January 2026, compared to goods inflation of 11.03 per cent.

The persistence of elevated health inflation suggests continued structural cost pressures in the sector, including rising import costs for pharmaceuticals, energy expenses for hospitals, and exchange rate pass-through effects.

The PUNCH in August 2025 reported that despite President Bola Tinubu’s executive order in June 2024 aimed at reducing drug costs by abolishing tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, Nigeria continues to battle soaring medication prices.

The report noted that drug prices in Nigeria surged alarmingly despite government promises of relief. Instead of dropping, many essential medicines have climbed between 30 per cent and 100 per cent, piling more pressure on patients already struggling with the rising cost of living.

Stakeholders attributed the persistent drug price hikes to the non-implementation or slow roll-out of the executive order, coupled with Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imports, high foreign exchange rates, rising energy costs, and other structural inefficiencies in the healthcare supply chain.

The PUNCH also reported that public health physicians raised concerns over the rising number of Nigerian families being pushed below the poverty line due to heavy reliance on out-of-pocket healthcare payments.

They warned that the growing financial burden is forcing households to choose between seeking timely medical attention and meeting basic survival needs. The experts noted that soaring treatment costs and limited access to subsidised services have worsened the vulnerability of low-income earners.