FG Unveils Autism Reform, Plans Six Regional Autism Centres, Expands Specialist Training

The Federal Government has unveiled a major initiative aimed at transforming autism care in Nigeria, combining expanded specialist training, targeted investment in tertiary institutions, and the planned establishment of autism centres across the country's six geopolitical zones.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed the initiative during an engagement with stakeholders, describing it as a significant step toward addressing Nigeria's persistent shortage of highly skilled professionals in audiology, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy. He revealed that the number of universities offering these specialised programmes has grown substantially in recent years, moving from roughly four universities to nearly sixteen, though he stressed that even more institutions still need to be brought on board to meet growing demand.

According to the minister, the expanded training capacity is intended to support services for children living with autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other developmental conditions, an area where Nigeria has historically struggled to build adequate specialist manpower. He said government investment is ongoing in the human capital needed to strengthen diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation services, with the ultimate goal of ensuring Nigerian families can increasingly access quality care within the country rather than seeking it elsewhere.

Alausa was direct in acknowledging the human cost of the current gap in specialist care, noting that many Nigerian families still travel abroad, and even to neighbouring countries, in search of specialised support for children with autism and ADHD because of limited local capacity. He described this situation as unacceptable, and said the federal government is determined to reverse the pattern by building sufficient domestic capacity to meet demand.

To accelerate these reforms, the minister announced that beginning next year, the federal government will roll out targeted interventions specifically for universities already offering the specialised programmes. These interventions will include the expansion of physical infrastructure, provision of modern equipment, and instructional materials designed to significantly increase institutions' capacity to train professionals in audiology, speech therapy and occupational therapy ,support intended to complement the recent growth in the number of participating universities with the resources needed to actually scale up training output.

The minister further disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education has directed the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to fast-track accreditation for the Federal School of Occupational Therapy and the Occupational Therapy diploma programme at the University of Benin. He said the move is intended to create a seamless academic progression pathway from diploma to bachelor's degree level, strengthening professional career pathways for occupational therapists and encouraging more students to pursue the discipline with a clear route to advanced qualification.

Alausa commended universities that have already embraced the federal government's policy direction by introducing the specialised programmes, describing their efforts as critical to building the broader workforce required to improve outcomes for children living with developmental conditions across the country.

Looking further ahead, the minister announced that beginning in 2027, the federal government will establish autism centres in each of the country's six geopolitical zones. According to Alausa, these centres will provide comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services, promote ongoing research into autism and related developmental conditions, and function as regional centres of excellence supporting families, healthcare professionals and educational institutions within their respective zones.

The announcement reflects a broader push within Nigeria's education and health policy circles to address longstanding gaps in developmental disorder care, an area that has historically received comparatively limited institutional investment relative to other areas of Nigeria's health and education systems. Autism and related developmental conditions have increasingly drawn public attention in Nigeria in recent years, with advocacy groups and affected families frequently highlighting the scarcity of trained specialists, diagnostic facilities and therapeutic services available domestically.

By combining near-term investment in existing training institutions with a longer-term plan for regional specialist centres, the federal government's approach appears designed to address the capacity gap from multiple directions simultaneously , expanding the pipeline of trained professionals in the short term while building dedicated physical infrastructure for diagnosis and therapy over the coming years. The full impact of the reforms, including the extent to which they succeed in reducing the number of Nigerian families travelling abroad for autism-related care, is likely to become clearer as the planned university interventions and regional centres move from announcement toward implementation over the next several years.