RismadarVoice Reporters, February 20, 2026
The Federal Government has announced plans to establish the Armed Forces College of Medicine and Health Sciences (AFCOM&HS) as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s estimated shortfall of 340,000 doctors.
The decision followed a high-level meeting involving the Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa; the Minister of State for Education, Suiwaba Ahmed; and the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, alongside key stakeholders in education, defence, and health sectors.
According to a statement signed by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria’s population has now exceeded 240 million, while only 189 medical professionals currently serve within the Armed Forces.
The statement emphasized the urgent need for scalable and innovative medical training models to bridge the national doctor deficit.
The proposed college is designed as a strategic national intervention to strengthen military healthcare services, expand Nigeria’s medical training capacity, and position the country as a regional hub for military medical training in West Africa.
As part of broader reforms, the government has doubled annual medical school admissions from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000, with plans to scale up to approximately 19,000 in the coming years. AFCOM&HS will form a critical component of this expansion, producing combat casualty-trained doctors, trauma specialists, emergency medics, military public health and disaster response professionals, and other allied health personnel.
The college will operate within the existing university framework of the Nigerian Defence Academy, in line with the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium on new tertiary institutions and directives from President Bola Tinubu.
Clinical training will take place in accredited federal and military hospitals, and successful graduates will be commissioned as Captains in the Armed Forces.
A Technical Working Group comprising representatives from the Ministries of Education and Defence, the Nigerian Defence Academy, MODHIP, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, JAMB, and the National Universities Commission has been constituted to ensure compliance and quality assurance.
The Federal Government stated that all necessary processes are being finalized for admissions to commence by October or November 2026, marking a significant step toward strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare and military medical capabilities.
