…N249.5bn disbursed to basic healthcare fund
…3,526 PHCs revitalised, 78,054 frontline workers trained
…Maternal deaths fall 60% in supported facilities
By Precious Dipe
The number of Nigerians covered by health insurance has increased from about 16 million to nearly 24 million in three years, the Federal Government has said, highlighting the expansion of financial protection as one of the major gains of its ongoing health sector reforms.
The government also disclosed that it had disbursed N249.5 billion to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, compared with less than N80 billion released during the fund's preceding 10 years.
The figures were presented at the 2026 Joint Annual Review (JAR) in Abuja, where the Federal Government reviewed three years of implementation of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the reforms were designed to save lives, reduce the physical and financial burden of illness and ensure that more Nigerians could access affordable, quality healthcare.
He said the reforms were anchored on the 2023 Health Sector Compact and the Sector-Wide Approach, which align government and development partner investments around common health sector priorities.
Beyond expanding insurance coverage, Pate said the government had introduced measures to reduce the cost of treating some of the country's most expensive medical conditions.
He disclosed that dialysis costs had fallen by up to 80 per cent for 5,106 patients, while selected cancer medicines were being subsidised. Free emergency medical care within 48 hours was also available across 507 facilities.
On primary healthcare financing, the minister said N249.5 billion had been disbursed to BHCPF gateways, with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission supporting accountability in the utilisation of funds.
He described the disbursement as a significant increase over the less than N80 billion released throughout the fund's preceding decade.
On maternal and newborn health, Pate said the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), implemented through facilities empanelled by the National Health Insurance Authority, had linked 750,000 pregnant women to healthcare facilities.
Emergency transportation services had also conveyed 104,566 women and newborns requiring urgent medical attention.
Under the government's free maternal, newborn and fistula care programmes, almost 100,000 beneficiaries had received services in two years. Of this number, 80,906 accessed emergency obstetric care, while 6,059 received fistula treatment.
The government further reported a 22 per cent reduction in obstetric emergency deaths in participating facilities, while maternal case fatality rates in BHCPF-supported facilities declined by 60 per cent between 2024 and 2026.
On primary healthcare delivery, the minister said 3,526 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised in collaboration with state governments and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, with work ongoing at another 900 facilities.
He added that 78,054 frontline health workers had been trained, while 19,758 skilled birth attendants had been recruited across 22 states and 4,747 community health workers engaged in 10 states.
The government had also doubled pre-service admission quotas for health worker training and selected 1,548 National Health Fellows in two cohorts to support health system development across local government areas.
In immunisation, measles and rubella vaccination had reached 100 million children, while more than 19 million adolescent girls had received the HPV vaccine.
Pate also highlighted investments in specialist healthcare, saying three of the six planned cancer centres in Enugu, Benin and Katsina were operational, alongside 10 diagnostic and specialist centres, through collaboration with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.
More than 500 infrastructure and equipment projects had also been completed across 60 federal tertiary hospitals within three years.
On local pharmaceutical manufacturing, he said the 2024 Executive Order on pharmaceutical development had supported N24 billion in tax waivers for the sector in 2025 and 2026.
Through the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, 10 factories or manufacturing lines had been commissioned, six of them in 2026. Twelve technology transfer agreements had also been secured, with a prospective investment pipeline exceeding $5 billion.
He said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control was intensifying efforts against falsified medicines, while the proposed Medipool initiative was expected to aggregate demand and improve access to essential medical products.
On health security, Pate cited Nigeria's recent containment of an imported Ebola case as evidence of the country's public health preparedness and response capacity.
Despite the reported gains, the minister acknowledged that significant challenges remained. He said 12 of 13 assessed health sector indicators had improved, but stunting remained a major concern.
Findings from the People's Voice Surveys showed that the proportion of Nigerians who believed the health system was improving increased from 47 per cent in 2024 to 57 per cent in 2026, while patient-perceived quality of care stood at 71 per cent.
However, affordability, inadequate staffing, remuneration, working conditions and patient safety remained major concerns requiring sustained attention.
Pate said the next phase of reforms would prioritise hospital modernisation, digital health, timely release of healthcare funds and more effective utilisation of available resources.
He called for an increase in the BHCPF allocation to two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and reforms to excise duties on sugar-sweetened beverages, with proceeds earmarked for healthcare financing.
He also highlighted the 2026–2030 Nigeria–United States health partnership, which envisages nearly $2 billion in grants and an additional $3 billion in Nigerian financing, as part of efforts to strengthen domestic health financing and end dependence on external health assistance by 2030.
The minister said the ultimate test of the reforms would be their ability to translate increased investment into timely, dependable, affordable and quality healthcare for Nigerians.
Editorial consideration: The insurance figure is the strongest lead because it speaks directly to the number of Nigerians gaining financial protection. However, the story should ideally establish whether the increase from 16 million to 24 million represents active enrollees across NHIA and state schemes, or cumulative registrations. That distinction matters when reporting actual insurance coverage.
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