How to get help for an elderly parent in Nigeria when you live abroad

The starting point

Nigeria had around 8 million people over 60 in 2019, heading for 25 million by 2050. Only about 4% of older people have a pension, the National Policy on Ageing agreed in 2021 has not been implemented, and Lagos State runs a single government old people's home, at Yaba. Care for an ageing parent is a family matter by default, and for families abroad that means arranging it from a distance.

The options, with what they cost in Lagos

• A relative or neighbour. Free or informal, and the most common arrangement. Works until the person doing it is exhausted, moves, or misses something a professional would catch.
• A live-in or daily caregiver from an agency: roughly N119,000 to N159,000 a month in 2026. Companionship, meals, mobility, reminders. Not a nurse.
• A registered nurse from an agency: roughly N219,000 to N259,000 a month; nurse plus caregiver packages from around N329,000. Suits someone with a condition that needs clinical watching.
• A care home. Lagos has a small number of private homes; the one with published prices charges N79,000 to N249,000 a month. Most quote on request. Widely resisted by parents and families alike.
• Regular visits by a qualified nurse, with health benefits alongside. Kinship Visits are £60 a month for one visit up to three hours, £110 for two, £200 for four, each ending in a plain update to the family; Kinship Well from £39 a month adds the health benefits and a doctor to talk to. A named Kinkeeper reviews every report.

Choosing between them

• Someone well, living alone, whose family worries: visits on a rhythm, with a doctor in the app. Escalate if a visit finds something.
• Someone with a condition such as hypertension or diabetes, common in older Nigerians: health benefits first, visits that include being alongside them at appointments, and a Kinkeeper who reads the pattern.
• Someone who needs help every day with washing, meals or moving: a caregiver or live-in carer, with visits from a nurse alongside to keep a qualified eye on it.
• Someone who can no longer be safely at home: a care home, chosen in person by a family member, with the visits continuing there.

Whatever you choose

• Put one person's name on it. The failure mode of care from abroad is everyone assuming someone else called.
• Agree how you will hear about it: a written update after each visit, not a phone call that says fine.
• Sort the hospital question before it is urgent: which one, is it in the network, who takes them.
• Have the conversation with your parent before the decision is forced on them.

Related

• How to talk to a parent about accepting help
• Care options in Lagos compared