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…targets 5,000 additional PHCs, plans recruitment of frontline health workers
The Federal Government has approved the expansion of primary healthcare services to an additional 5,000 facilities nationwide and announced a quarterly disbursement of N40.7 billion to states under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).
The measures are aimed at improving access to affordable healthcare, strengthening primary healthcare delivery and ensuring that increased government revenue translates into better health outcomes for Nigerians.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this in Abuja, on Wednesday, while briefing journalists on the outcome of a meeting of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) on the implementation of the fund.
He said the government was expanding the number of facilities supported under the programme from more than 8,000, with the additional 5,000 selected based on equity considerations, including disease burden, population distribution and distance to healthcare services.
Pate attributed the increased resources available to the fund to the macroeconomic and fiscal reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, noting that monthly disbursements into the fund had almost doubled, alongside increased allocations to states.
According to him, the additional resources would be channelled towards strengthening primary healthcare delivery across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He, however, stressed that the Federal Government could not shoulder the responsibility of financing primary healthcare alone, urging state governments and local councils to increase their contributions to health, education and other essential social services.
“The only way this will work is if we approach this as a national health system. The Federal Government does its part, but states must also do their part to ensure that the funding is sustained,” he said.
Pate recalled that the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) introduced in 2009, had helped address weaknesses in the deployment of qualified health personnel at primary healthcare centres, particularly in states where unqualified workers were previously employed.
He said the Federal Government was also working to ensure that health workers recruited through savings made by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) would eventually be absorbed and funded by state and local governments.
Under the arrangement, the government intends to support the recruitment of frontline health workers and facilitate their transition to state responsibility over the next three years, while encouraging states to recruit additional personnel to address staffing shortages.
The minister explained that the approach was designed to strengthen the health workforce sustainably rather than create a situation in which the Federal Government bears the entire financial burden.
On financial management, Pate advocated the use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to improve accountability and monitor how public healthcare funds are spent.
He said the continued reliance on manual and paper-based records made it difficult to establish whether resources released to facilities were directly linked to healthcare services delivered.
According to him, digital tools could help identify irregularities in records, track expenditures and provide evidence of how funds were utilised, provided adequate cybersecurity safeguards were established to protect sensitive information.
He urged the committee to approve the proposed measures while ensuring that appropriate safeguards, diligent reporting and effective monitoring mechanisms were put in place.
The minister also called on civil society organisations, community leaders, the media and the joint task force established with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to monitor the utilisation of resources released directly to healthcare facilities.
He said the oversight arrangements were necessary to ensure that increased funding reached intended beneficiaries and improved the quality of services available to Nigerians.
Pate further disclosed that the committee discussed responses to disease outbreaks, including Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria.
He expressed concern over deaths associated with Lassa fever, noting that many could be prevented through timely interventions and adequate funding, while urging states to strengthen their outbreak response capacity.
On diphtheria, the minister called on parents and caregivers to ensure that their children received recommended vaccinations, emphasising that the disease was vaccine-preventable.
He said improved funding, effective surveillance and stronger collaboration between federal and subnational authorities were essential to reducing preventable deaths and containing outbreaks.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, alongside Pate, also emphasised the need to ensure that additional resources were used efficiently, particularly through improved procurement practices.
The minister said the MOC also discussed pooled procurement arrangements to secure better prices for medicines and other essential health commodities supplied to primary healthcare facilities.
He explained that the initiative was intended to improve value for money, expand access to affordable commodities and ensure that increased funding translated into more services for patients.
The meeting also considered measures to extend health insurance coverage to vulnerable groups.
The minister disclosed that a decision had been taken to include about 90,000 beneficiaries under the vulnerable health insurance arrangement, describing the initiative as part of the administration’s efforts to protect Nigerians who might otherwise struggle to pay for healthcare.
He said expanding coverage for vulnerable populations remained a priority as the government worked to strengthen financial protection and improve access to essential health services.
On the quarterly disbursement, the minister reiterated that the N40.7 billion allocation represented the Federal Government’s contribution and should not be regarded as the limit of funding available for primary healthcare.
He urged states and local governments to complement the intervention with increased spending, arguing that many of the challenges confronting primary healthcare delivery required action at the subnational level.
The government, he added, was also undertaking interventions beyond primary healthcare, including the rehabilitation of federal teaching and tertiary hospitals, diagnostic infrastructure and cancer care facilities.
Pate said the administration remained committed to rebuilding the country’s healthcare system through improved financing, stronger institutions and more efficient deployment of available resources.
The latest measures, he maintained, were intended to ensure that additional public resources produced measurable improvements in healthcare access, quality and outcomes across the country.
