By Rotimi Agboluaje,Ibadan
An Ibadan-based organisation, Brain Health Initiative Nigeria, on Thursday urged the National Assembly to take urgent legislative action to integrate Brain Health and Brain Capital Development into the country’s health, education, and economic policies, warning that Africa faces a growing brain health crisis costing the continent an estimated $54 billion annually.
This appeal was contained in a formal letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, transmitted through the Clerk of the House , by the Executive Director of the Initiative, Dr. Temitope Farombi, a neurologist.
Citing the G20 Brain Policy Paper (2025), Dr. Farombi disclosed that African nations lose more than $10 billion each year to direct healthcare spending on brain health disorders, with an additional $44 billion lost to productivity decline, a combined burden the Africa Task Force on Brain Health says is unsustainable for the continent’s economic trajectory.
Farombi, who is a Ph.D holder in Global Health from a British university, noted that this reality underscores the need to recognise brain health as a foundational pillar of human capital development, warning that failure to act would deepen national vulnerability at a time when Nigeria is experiencing rapid demographic shifts, with a growing youth population and a rising burden of age-related brain disorders.
According to the letter, the Africa Task Force on Brain Health, coordinated by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative and supported by global experts, has identified five priority areas to guide national reforms, including combating low birth weight,enhancing education and cognitive development,supporting cardiovascular health, addressing hearing loss, and advancing breakthrough treatments and digital innovations.
Dr. Farombi explained that the Task Force, through its Brain Economy Working Group, advocates a life-course approach to brain health, protecting brain function from prenatal stages through aging. Evidence from the group indicates that Africa could gain up to $36 billion in economic value by 2050 and avert more than 63 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) if brain capital reforms are adopted across the continent.
She stressed that Nigeria, as a regional leader, must not lag behind.
“This is an opportune moment to embed brain capital into national policy. Legislative backing is crucial for Nigeria to build a resilient, knowledge-driven economy centred on human capital development, the true engine of national progress,” she wrote.
The Initiative called on lawmakers to support the drafting of a Brain Health and Capital Bill with decisive provisions to establish a national framework integrating brain health into health, education and workforce policies; allocate funding for research, capacity building and partnerships with regional and global bodies, including the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative and the Science for Africa Foundation; mandate nationwide training and awareness programmes for healthcare providers, educators and community health workers; strengthen innovation and digital inclusion through AI-driven diagnostic systems and data-enabled policy monitoring.
Dr. Farombi, founder of Brain Centre Hospital, Ibadan, emphasised that legislating brain capital development would position Nigeria to better address rising rates of cognitive disorders, improve educational outcomes and enhance workforce productivity.
The Brain Health Initiative Nigeria also expressed its readiness to provide lawmakers with technical briefings, policy documents and research needed to support the legislative process.
“We would be honoured to provide further technical briefings and policy documents to support this effort,” she added, thanking the National Assembly for its commitment to advancing the health and prosperity of Nigerians.
