The Federal Government has approved the disbursement of ₦32.8 billion to states under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), saying the funds will support primary healthcare, emergency medical services, health insurance and disease preparedness as it outlined progress under its ongoing health sector reforms.
The Federal Government has approved the disbursement of ₦32.8 billion to states under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) to sustain primary healthcare services, emergency medical care, health insurance coverage and disease preparedness across the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, announced the approval on Friday while briefing journalists after the quarterly meeting of the Expanded Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC), which reviewed progress on the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
According to the minister, more than 8,000 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory currently receive quarterly direct facility financing through the BHCPF to provide essential healthcare services, medicines, health insurance for vulnerable groups, emergency medical services and disease outbreak preparedness.
Pate said the government had disbursed ₦339 billion through the BHCPF over the past 12 years, with ₦235 billion released within the last three years.
He also said the government is considering expanding the Direct Facility Financing programme to 17,600 PHCs under an equity-based funding model.
“Assessment is also underway to expand the Direct Facility Financing programme from over 8,000 facilities to 17,600 PHCs, with an equity-based funding formula that considers population size and disease burden,” he said.
The minister said the government had upgraded more than 3,000 PHCs to Level Two status, while nearly 1,000 additional facilities are undergoing revitalisation.
He added that approximately 40 per cent of BHCPF funding is currently allocated to essential medicines and health commodities.
According to Pate, more than 130,000 Nigerians have benefited from emergency medical services financed through the BHCPF, while 35 states have established emergency medical service structures. He said Benue and Imo states currently rely on Federal Government health institutions for emergency medical services.
On disease preparedness, the minister said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) continues to support states in strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory capacity and outbreak response for diseases including cholera, Lassa fever and viral meningitis.
He added that the Federal Government recently approved additional BHCPF funding to strengthen preparedness against Ebola Virus Disease following outbreaks reported within the African region.
Pate also announced an increase in health insurance enrolment, saying more than six million Nigerians had joined health insurance schemes over the last three years, raising total enrolment from about 16 million to more than 22 million.
In maternal and child health, he said more than 48,000 women had received free comprehensive emergency obstetric care, including Caesarean sections, under the Federal Government’s maternal health intervention programme.
He added that over 4,700 women had undergone free Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) repair surgeries in 207 healthcare facilities, while more than 2,900 newborns had benefited from neonatal healthcare interventions.
The minister also said more than 40,000 Nigerians had been enrolled in health insurance through a pilot programme implemented by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in partnership with the Global Fund.
The Expanded Ministerial Oversight Committee also reviewed preliminary findings from the 2026 Mini Demographic and Health Survey, which, according to Pate, showed improvements in antenatal care attendance, skilled birth attendance, childhood immunisation, contraceptive prevalence, child healthcare services and HIV interventions.
Despite the reported progress, the minister acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly the migration of healthcare workers from primary healthcare facilities to higher-level hospitals.
He said the trend is more pronounced in the South-East, South-South and South-West, and urged state governments to strengthen staffing at primary healthcare centres.
“Primary healthcare remains the bedrock of Nigeria’s health system and is primarily the responsibility of state and local governments,” Pate said.
He called on state and local governments to fulfil their statutory counterpart funding obligations of 25 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, to strengthen primary healthcare financing nationwide.
The Expanded Ministerial Oversight Committee comprises federal health agencies, state commissioners for health, state primary healthcare development agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders. It meets periodically to review implementation of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, launched by President Bola Tinubu in December 2023.
