FG expands health insurance coverage to 24m Nigerians

…Revitalises 3,526 PHCs, records over 20% drop in maternal deaths

…Tinubu administration fulfils 41 health sector commitments — Pate

Track Exec Orders

By Chidinma Chukwu, Abuja

The Federal Government has expanded health insurance coverage from 16 million to 24 million Nigerians, revitalised 3,526 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) and recorded a reduction of more than 20 per cent in maternal deaths arising from obstetric emergencies in government-supported facilities over the past three years.

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The government also said the President Bola Tinubu administration had fulfilled all 41 performance commitments set for the health sector at the beginning of his tenure.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the third Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review (JAR), themed, “Make the Data Count”.

Pate attributed the achievements to reforms under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the Health Sector Strategic Blueprint, which focus on strengthening healthcare governance, improving population health, expanding health financing, promoting local production of medical supplies and enhancing health security.

According to him, the progress reflects the collective efforts of federal and state governments, development partners and other stakeholders.

He said, “At the beginning of this administration, Mr President set performance commitments for the health sector. I am pleased to report that we have achieved all 41 commitments. These results reflect work across the federation and the institutions represented here today.”

The minister disclosed that, for the third consecutive year, all states and more than 8,000 facilities supported by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) had prepared plans for the coming year, aligned with budget priorities.

He said cumulative BHCPF releases since 2019 had reached approximately ₦422.3bn as of October 2026, with ₦323.6bn disbursed to the fund’s gateways, including ₦249.5bn under the Tinubu administration.

Pate added that the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to strengthen the tracking of the funds and promote accountability.

On health insurance, he said coverage had increased from approximately 16 million to 24 million Nigerians within three years, representing eight million additional enrollees.

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On primary healthcare delivery, the minister said 3,526 centres had been revitalised in collaboration with state governments and development partners, while work was ongoing on another 900 facilities.

He also disclosed that 19,758 skilled birth attendants had been recruited across 22 states, alongside 4,747 community health workers in 10 states, while 78,054 frontline health workers had received training.

According to him, the interventions had improved access to maternal and newborn healthcare, particularly in local government areas covered by the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).

He said 91 per cent of BHCPF-supported facilities in MAMII local government areas now had at least two midwives or community health extension workers, compared with 12 per cent at the beginning of the initiative.

He added that 99 per cent of the facilities in the areas were connected to emergency referral systems.

Providing further details on healthcare outcomes, Pate said skilled deliveries in BHCPF-supported facilities increased from 4.8 million in 2023 to 7.9 million in 2026, while women completing at least four antenatal care visits rose from six million to 8.7 million.

Outpatient visits also increased from 32.4 million to 43 million, while the number of children receiving the third dose of the pentavalent vaccine doubled from 1.2 million to 2.4 million within one year.

On immunisation, the minister said more than 100 million children had received measles and rubella vaccines, while over 18 million girls had been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.

He further disclosed that the government’s emergency maternal healthcare intervention had provided nearly 100,000 services, including 80,900 Caesarean sections, 9,100 newborn services and more than 6,000 fistula repairs.

On the impact of the intervention, Pate said deaths arising from obstetric emergencies had declined by more than one-fifth in participating facilities providing emergency services.

He added that BHCPF-supported facilities in MAMII areas recorded an approximately 60 per cent reduction in maternal case fatality between 2024 and 2026.

“These are some of the highest-risk maternal cases, and the results demonstrate the importance of ensuring that women have access to timely and affordable emergency care,” he said.

The minister also highlighted interventions to reduce the cost of treating critical illnesses, disclosing that dialysis costs had been reduced by almost 80 per cent, benefiting about 5,000 patients, while more than 700 cancer patients had received subsidised medicines.

On local pharmaceutical production, he said the Federal Government’s Executive Order on healthcare manufacturing facilitated ₦24bn in tax waivers for pharmaceutical manufacturers between 2025 and 2026.

He added that Nigeria had secured 12 technology-transfer agreements and attracted a prospective investment pipeline exceeding $5bn.

Pate also commended the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), port health officials and development partners for their roles in containing the threat posed by an imported Ebola case.

On healthcare financing, he said the government was pursuing measures to increase domestic investment in the sector, including proposed legislative reforms to raise the BHCPF allocation from one to two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

He disclosed that the health memorandum of understanding with the United States provided for nearly $2bn in grant funding between April 2026 and December 2030, while Nigeria planned to commit an additional nearly $3bn in domestic health financing within the same period.

The minister urged state governments to strengthen healthcare financing and introduce incentives to retain health workers in rural and underserved communities, noting that the concentration of professionals in major cities continued to limit access to healthcare in remote areas.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, called for stronger accountability and data-driven implementation of government policies to sustain the ongoing reforms.

Salako described the annual review as an important platform for assessing achievements, identifying implementation gaps and setting priorities for improving healthcare delivery.

He said the exercise would examine ongoing programmes covering maternal and child healthcare, emergency transport, health financing, nutrition and local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

He urged stakeholders to ensure that the review produced actionable resolutions with clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and adequate funding in the 2027 annual plans and budgets.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said sustainable healthcare financing remained central to achieving progress in the sector.

She reaffirmed the Senate committee’s commitment to supporting legislative measures aimed at strengthening healthcare financing and delivery.

Similarly, the World Health Organisation Representative to Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, emphasised the importance of coordinated healthcare planning, budgeting, reporting and accountability.

Ursu said the framework of One Plan, One Budget, One Report, One Conversation and One Voice, supported by performance reviews across federal, state and local governments and effective use of data, was essential to translating policies into measurable results.

He said the success of the reforms would ultimately be measured by improvements in communities and the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

Ursu added that Nigeria had the potential to provide a model for healthcare transformation across Africa and beyond.