Nigeria Establishes Armed Forces Medical College

The Federal Government of Nigeria has advanced plans to establish the Armed Forces College of Medicine and Health Sciences (AFCOM&HS) to address critical manpower gaps within its Armed Forces and expand national healthcare training capacity. This decision, reached at a high-level meeting involving the Nigeria===Federal Ministry of Education and Nigeria===Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany), aims to produce combat casualty-trained doctors, trauma surgeons, and other medical professionals. The college will be domiciled within the Nigeria===Nigerian Defence Academy, adhering to a seven-year moratorium on new tertiary institutions. Maruf Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, highlighted a severe national shortage of approximately 340,000 doctors and only 189 medical professionals serving in the Defence Forces. Admissions are projected to commence by October or November 2026, with graduates commissioned as Captains in the Armed Forces. A Technical Working Group, including the Nigeria===Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Nigeria===Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and Nigeria===National Universities Commission, has been constituted to oversee implementation and regulatory compliance. This initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu's broader reform agenda to strengthen STEMM education and position Nigeria as a regional hub for military medical training.