The Federal Government has advanced plans to establish the Armed Forces College of Medicine and Health Sciences (AFCOM&HS) as part of efforts to strengthen military medical services and bridge critical manpower gaps within the Armed Forces.
The decision was reached at a high-level meeting convened by the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suiwaba Sai’d Ahmed, alongside the Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, and other senior officials across the education, defence and health sectors.
In a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, the proposed college is to be domiciled within the framework of the Nigerian Defence Academy in compliance with the Federal Government’s seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new tertiary institutions.
The statement added that the initiative aligns with the Bola Tinubu administration’s broader reform agenda aimed at expanding Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences, STEMM education and strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare workforce.
According to the statement, the Education Minister highlighted the scale of the challenge, noting that while Nigeria’s population exceeds 240 million, only 189 medical professionals are currently serving within the Defence Forces as he also pointed to a nationwide shortfall of about 340,000 doctors.
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He said as part of wider reforms, the Federal Ministry of Education has increased annual medical school admissions from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000, with projections to scale up to roughly 19,000 in the coming years, and that the Armed Forces College is expected to form a key pillar of that expansion.
He further mentioned that Under the proposed structure, medical cadets will gain admission through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and, upon completion of their training, will be commissioned as Captains in the Armed Forces.
According to the education minister, the programme is designed to produce combat casualty-trained doctors, trauma surgeons, emergency response medics, military public health experts, and disaster and humanitarian response professionals, while clinical training will be anchored in accredited federal and military hospitals to ensure quality and regulatory compliance.
To oversee implementation, the minister notef that a Technical Working Group has been constituted, comprising representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Defence Academy, the Director-General of the Ministry of Defence Health Implementation Programme, as well as regulatory bodies including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the National Universities Commission, and joint admissions and Matriculation board, JAMB.
The group has been tasked with ensuring that all regulatory processes are concluded ahead of a planned commencement of admissions by October or November 2026.
(Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie)
