FG records 60% drop in maternal deaths at PHC facilities – Pate

• 8m enrolled in health insurance, revitalises 3,500 PHCs

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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Federal Government has reported a 60 per cent reduction in maternal death case fatality rates in Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities supported by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), describing the development as a significant gain of ongoing health sector reforms.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2026 Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review (JAR), where he said reforms introduced by the administration were beginning to produce measurable improvements in healthcare delivery.

Pate disclosed that the government disbursed ₦249 billion through the BHCPF between 2023 and the third quarter of 2026, compared with a cumulative ₦74 billion released over the preceding 10 years.

He said more than 3,500 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised, while about 20,000 skilled birth attendants had been recruited across 22 states to improve access to maternal and child healthcare.

According to him, 91 per cent of BHCPF-supported facilities in several local government areas now have at least two midwives or community health extension workers, compared with 12 per cent before the reforms.

The minister also said health insurance coverage had increased from 16 million to almost 24 million Nigerians, while emergency transportation had been activated in 171 of the 172 targeted local government areas.

He added that about 168,000 patients, including 62,000 women and newborns, had been transported under the initiative.

The National Coordinator of the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) Coordination Office, Dr Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, provided further details on the maternal health gains, saying the maternal death case fatality rate in BHCPF-supported facilities had declined by 60 per cent.

He said 12 of 13 key family planning, maternal and child health indicators had improved, with skilled birth attendance progressing 11 times faster between 2023 and 2026 than in the preceding five years.

Umar-Sadiq said post-natal checks had improved seven times faster, while institutional deliveries recorded progress three times faster, attributing the gains to improved financing, stronger coordination and increased investment in primary healthcare.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said nearly eight million additional Nigerians had enrolled in health insurance, including more than three million vulnerable people.

He said the government was directly supporting more than 8,000 primary healthcare centres and had committed over ₦290 billion to basic healthcare. More than 3,000 PHCs, he added, had been upgraded to Level 2 readiness.

Salako also reported reductions of 22 per cent and 25 per cent in facility-reported neonatal and under-five deaths respectively, stressing that the share of locally manufactured medicines had risen from 30 per cent in 2023 to 50 per cent in 2026, while the number of active local pharmaceutical manufacturers increased by about 10 per cent.

Presenting the sector’s performance data, the Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Dr John Ovuoraye, said facility-reported maternal deaths stood at 3,273 in 2026, compared with about 5,000 in 2024.

He also reported that the number of revitalised primary healthcare centres increased from 1,610 in 2025 to 3,504 in 2026, while health insurance enrolment rose to 24.1 million from 21.1 million in the previous year.

Ovuoraye said state health budget allocations increased to ₦3.44 trillion from ₦1.86 trillion, while 87 per cent of reported disease outbreaks were detected within seven days, compared with about 78 per cent previously.

However, stakeholders cautioned that improvements in funding and infrastructure must translate into better services at community level.

A civil society representative, Dr Muhammed Lecky, said primary healthcare centres still required adequate personnel, medicines, electricity and functional systems. He called for transparent funding, stronger community participation and independent assessment of performance.

The World Health Organisation and World Bank representatives commended Nigeria’s sector-wide approach, while urging sustained government ownership and a stronger focus on measurable health outcomes.

The Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) also pledged legislative support, with its chairperson, Senator Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, stressing the need for increased domestic financing, timely budget releases and effective oversight.

The review brought together federal and state health officials, development partners, legislators, professional bodies, civil society and traditional and religious leaders to assess progress and agree on priorities for 2027.