The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it will use the Diaspora Health Impact Initiative (DHII) 2026 to help fix healthcare in Nigeria through a vast reservoir of expertise of over 50,000 Nigerian doctors and thousands more nurses, pharmacists and public health specialists scattered across the globe.
The initiative took centre stage over the weekend as Nigeria marked the 2026 National Diaspora Day (NDD) in Abuja, with the theme “Harnessing Global Diaspora Expertise to Strengthen Local Health Systems for National Development”.
In his keynote speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, described the DHII as a flagship intervention designed to harness the expertise, experience, innovation and professional networks of Nigerian healthcare professionals abroad, driving knowledge transfer, specialist medical outreach, capacity building, clinical mentorship, research collaboration and health workforce development.
These interventions, he said, are already improving healthcare access, enhancing service quality, reducing health disparities and advancing universal health coverage across Nigeria.
Strong health systems, he added, are essential for economic growth, social stability and national resilience, and by connecting global Nigerian medical expertise with local needs, the initiative is helping build a healthier and more prosperous future for the country.
Enikanolaiye stressed that the diaspora remains one of Nigeria’s most strategic assets, serving as a bridge for diplomacy, technology transfer and global partnership well beyond remittances and investment.
He affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to fostering stronger ties with Nigerians abroad and commended the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri Erewa, for her dedication to advancing diaspora engagement and implementing impactful initiatives such as the DHII.
In her address, Dabiri Erewa declared that NiDCOM has moved “from policy to impact” since 2019.
She said the Federal Executive Council has approved the National Diaspora Policy 2021, which now guides all Ministries, Departments and Agencies on diaspora matters, and that almost all 36 states and the FCT have appointed State Diaspora Focal Point Officers following NiDCOM’s outreach to state governors.
She highlighted the DHII’s zonal medical missions across all six geopolitical zones, delivered in partnership with diaspora physician associations covering areas from maternal and child health to sickle cell screening, emergency surgery and neurosurgery.
She noted that diaspora medical groups have equipped hospitals and primary health centres and donated equipment worth billions of naira, alongside the Diaspora Bridge programme bringing academics home for lectures and sabbaticals, and the new Silicon Valley Tech Bridge partnership with San José State University to train young Nigerians in emerging technologies.
She disclosed that diaspora remittances have grown from $17 billion in 2019 to over $21 billion in 2025, pointed to upcoming investment summits in Abuja and Toronto in August, and announced a new partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to give the diaspora access to affordable housing at home, to be launched in the United Kingdom in August.