Abuja: The Federal Government has unveiled plans to create the Armed Forces College of Medicine and Health Sciences (AFCOM&HS), a specialised institution designed to strengthen military healthcare and enhance national medical capacity.
Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, released a statement to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja.
Boriowo said the initiative will also address manpower shortages within the Armed Forces and expand Nigeria’s overall medical training capacity.
She quoted the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, as announcing this development at a high-level meeting with the Minister of Defence and other key stakeholders.
Present at the meeting were the Ministers of State for Education and Defence.
Alausa said the proposed college aligned with the Federal Government’s reform agenda, particularly efforts to strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences Education.
He said the college would provide a structured, sustainable pipeline of military-trained doctors, surgeons, trauma specialists, emergency response medics, and allied health professionals.
According to him, Nigeria faces a growing shortage of medical professionals amid a population of over 240 million people.
He said the country faces a deficit of about 340,000 doctors, emphasising the need for scalable and innovative training models.
Alausa said the ministry had doubled annual medical school admissions from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000.
He added that the ministry projects annual admissions will increase to about 19,000 in the coming years.
The minister said the new college’s unique integration of military and medical training would. He said that, in compliance with the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new tertiary institutions, the Nigerian Defence Academy will establish the college within its existing framework. Tertiary institutions, the Nigerian Defence Academy would establish the college within its existing framework.
According to him, the institution, Walausa, said designated military medical facilities, such as the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital and the 661 Nigerian Air Force Hospital in Lagos, will anchor the training.
He said medical cadets will undergo an eight-year programme consisting of six years of academic training, one year of military training, and one year of housemanship.
The minister said the graduates will possess medical expertise, discipline, leadership skills, and operational readiness for military service. He added that a Technical Working Group now oversees regulatory compliance and quality assurance.
Its members include representatives from the relevant ministries, the Nigerian Defence Academy, and regulatory bodies.
He said the objective was to ensure that admissions commence by October or November 2026.
Alausa reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to work with its defence and regulatory partners to deliver the initiative in compliance with the extant national standards and global best practices.
