On 17 May 2025, the world observed World Hypertension Day, with the World Health Organisation spearheading global activities. This year’s theme — “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!”—is as urgent as it is universal, considering that hypertension has quietly become one of the deadliest diseases in the world. According to the WHO, the disease is responsible for approximately 7.5 million deaths annually.
In Nigeria, where the burden of non-communicable diseases is growing amid dwindling economic capacity and strained health infrastructure, the warning signs are flashing in red. The silent nature of hypertension and its deadly complications—heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure—make it a particularly dangerous foe. Yet, it is largely preventable and manageable with the right mix of awareness, access to care, and sustained behavioural change.
Despite pockets of commendable action across the country, the challenge remains staggering. Many Nigerians, especially in underserved rural areas, still live unaware of their blood pressure status. Cultural myths, healthcare illiteracy, and poor health-seeking behaviour continue to impede early detection and treatment.
It is not unusual to hear of individuals who only visit the hospital when their condition is already critical—by which time hypertension may have laid irreversible damage. Dr Folashade Daniel, consultant cardiologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, rightly warned that even young people are now increasingly affected due to sedentary lifestyles and poor diet. That should set alarm bells ringing in a country with one of the world’s youngest populations.
Encouragingly, we are seeing efforts that deserve amplification. Pharmaceutical companies like May & Baker have begun to shine a spotlight on the urgency of public education. Their recent “Walk for Life” campaign brought hypertension prevention to the streets, quite literally, making exercise, prayer, and advocacy part of the same journey.
In Lagos, public-private collaboration between LASUTH and New Heights Pharmaceuticals Omron Business shows what is possible when intention meets coordination. Up north, the Hypertension Society of Nigeria, under the leadership of Professor Simeon Isezuo, reached grassroots populations in Sokoto with free blood pressure checks and health education for traders. These are seeds of transformation that must be replicated nationwide.
But education alone will not solve the problem. A deeper issue is affordability and access to treatment. In a country grappling with inflation, volatile exchange rates, and low insurance coverage, many cannot afford the routine medications required to control hypertension. As Pharm. Patrick Ajah of May & Baker pointed out, the foreign exchange crisis has made essential medicines even more elusive. This is where policy must rise to the occasion. The Nigerian government must explore the possibility of contract manufacturing agreements with local pharmaceutical firms to produce antihypertensive drugs at scale and subsidised rates. State-owned hospitals and primary health centres can become distribution hubs, ensuring these life-saving drugs reach the poorest citizens.
Moreover, the media—particularly radio and television—must play a sustained role in promoting lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of hypertension. Campaigns in local languages should educate communities on the dangers of excessive salt, tobacco, alcohol, and stress. The goal is not just to treat hypertension but to prevent it altogether. In an era where our young people are being lured into sedentary digital lives and fast food culture, there is urgent need for a return to the basics: balanced nutrition, exercise, adequate sleep, and mindfulness. These are not luxuries but necessities for national survival.
There is no health system without healthy people, and no healthy nation without prevention at its core. Nigeria must wake up to the reality that a population weakened by untreated hypertension is a population unfit for development. The disease may be silent, but our response must not be. The time for action is now.
