The Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation has raised concern over the growing financial burden faced by Nigerian families caring for asthma patients, warning that rising poverty and the soaring cost of medication are pushing many sufferers toward avoidable health complications and death.
Speaking in Enugu during activities marking World Asthma Day, the Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Chiwuike Uba, described the situation as a silent public health emergency affecting thousands of households across the country.
This year’s World Asthma Day carried the theme: “Access to Anti-inflammatory Inhalers for Everyone With Asthma, Still An Urgent Need.”
Professor Uba said many families are increasingly unable to afford basic asthma medications, despite the life-threatening nature of the disease. According to him, inhaled corticosteroids and combination inhalers remain the most effective treatment options because they help control airway inflammation, reduce severe attacks and lower the risk of hospitalisation and death.
He explained that combination inhalers, which combine corticosteroids with fast-acting relievers, provide both immediate relief and long-term control for patients. However, he warned that these life-saving treatments are becoming inaccessible to ordinary Nigerians because of worsening economic hardship.
“A basic reliever inhaler costs between ₦5,000 and ₦8,500. Inhaled corticosteroids may cost up to ₦35,000, while combination inhalers range from ₦34,500 to ₦70,000,” he said.
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Professor Uba noted that with the national minimum wage currently at ₦70,000, many struggling families are forced to choose between survival and healthcare.
“With many households earning far less than the minimum wage, a single inhaler can consume or even exceed an entire family’s monthly income. For poor families, asthma treatment is no longer just expensive. It is becoming impossible,” he added.
The professor, who specialises in Applied Economics and Social Development, lamented that many asthma patients now ration medications, skip treatment entirely or depend on cheaper oral drugs with dangerous side effects.
According to him, some patients rely only on short-acting inhalers that temporarily suppress symptoms while the underlying condition continues to worsen silently.
He stressed that poverty has become a direct contributor to preventable illness and deaths among asthma patients in Nigeria.
The Foundation called for urgent government intervention to make asthma medications more affordable and accessible, especially for low-income families already battling inflation and rising healthcare costs.
Health advocates have repeatedly warned that untreated asthma can lead to severe breathing complications, frequent emergency hospital visits and sudden death if not properly managed.
