Healthcare: We have achieved 84% of our KPIs – Minister

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has boasted that Nigeria’s health care sector has recorded some unprecedented achievements in the last 12 months.

The Minister disclosed that 84 per cent of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under the presidential bond have been achieved as of the third quarter of 2025, that is 37 out of 41.

Speaking at the Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister stated that indices are showing positive outcomes, attributing the success to the support from the President and the collective efforts and commitment from all other stakeholders including the international partners.

He said that this year’s annual review builds on the baseline established last year, and also serves as a crucial accountability tool that [allows the opportunity to] track progress, identify gaps and chart a unified course toward better health outcomes for every Nigerian.

The Minister noted that the platform is also an opportunity to assess sector performance on key indicators and feature the signing of an updated Compact with an addendum that includes local government areas, private sector, traditional and religious leaders and civil society organisations.

Speaking on the success recorded over the last 12 months, the Minister said that 35 of the 36 states, plus the FCT, have conducted their state joint annual reviews and state performance dialogues with active citizens’ participation in the sectoral decision-making.

“All 36 states and the FCT now have annual operational plans fully aligned with the National Health Sector Strategic Blueprint and its priorities. 72 per cent of states have established functional Non-Communicable Disease Coordination Mechanisms to address hypertension, diabetes and other NCDs. All 774 Local Government Areas now have National Health Fellows and Public Financial Management Officers, surpassing our targets.

All ministerial oversight meetings on Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) have been held, and 60 per cent of the historical National Council on Health resolutions have been implemented.

“These outcomes demonstrate that the Compact commitments we signed with stakeholders in 2024 were not mere words on paper. They have been translated into tangible actions at national, state and local levels. Obviously, Nigeria is steadily transitioning from fragmented donor-led programming to coherent, nationally owned systems driven by measurable results.”

Regarding service coverage and utilisation, the Minister noted that across reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and primary health care indicators, the data shows consistent progress and expansion of service utilisation throughout 2025.

He made reference to quality-adjusted DHIS-2 data which indicated that the percentage of child deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants exceeded 90 per cent, a remarkable improvement given where we began. “Routine HMIS data also show antenatal care coverage at 39 per cent in 2023, while survey data recorded 52 per cent.

“For 2024 and 2025, coverage levels have exceeded 50 per cent in both years, showing that more women are attending antenatal clinics. New family planning acceptors have increased steadily each quarter, with an overall 10 per cent increase between the first and third quarters of 2025. Nearly half of women of reproductive age now use modern contraception, meeting previously unmet needs while respecting family, cultural and religious values.

“Routine data also shows steady improvements in vaccination coverage for key antigens. We have achieved most of our target for measles and rubella, while the introduction of the HPV vaccine stands as a beacon of progress globally. Primary health care utilisation in BHCPF facilities grew from 10 million visits in the first quarter of 2024 to 37 million in the first quarter of 2025 and 45 million in the second quarter of 2025. This demonstrates renewed public confidence in our primary health care system.”

On outcomes and impact, the Minister also noted that maternal deaths have declined by 17 per cent and newborn deaths by 12 per cent across the 172 high-burden local government areas targeted under the MAMII model. These areas account for more than half of maternal deaths nationwide. By using good data to identify and focus on these LGAs, we are already seeing tangible results. By 2026, population data from ongoing surveys will validate and deepen these gains, but what we are witnessing now is already proof of progress.

“52 per cent of these 172 LGAs now have, at least, two level-two primary health care facilities, and 435 facilities have been revitalised. Over 15,000 community-based health workers have been recruited across priority states, and nearly 70,000 frontline health workers have been retrained, moving us closer to our target of 120,000 by 2027.

“Similarly, skilled birth attendance coverage has increased by 33 per cent, and within the priority LGAs, 4,000 free caesarean sections have been conducted in NHIA-empanelled facilities. This follows the decision, last year, to include emergency obstetric care, including caesarean sections, under the national insurance benefit, removing one of the key barriers preventing women from accessing lifesaving care. We have moved from faith-based policy to evidence-based programming.”

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, in his remarks, said the theme for this year’s Joint Annual Review “All Hands, One Mission: Bringing the Nigerian Health Sector to Light” is an unwavering prompt for all stakeholders to do more in a shared vision, and collective responsibility to improve governance, enhance population health outcomes, unlock healthcare value chain and boost health security.

He said: “The operationalisation of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (HSRII) is not just an opportunity for expense, it is an investment with clear returns. We estimate an economic return worth N4.8 trillion annually saved from losses to preventable disease recoverable through the blueprint.

“We are equally poised to achieve a significant reversal of the direction of medical tourism with the potential to domestically retain an estimated N850 billion spent abroad annually by Nigerians on medical tourism. We foresee a massive social return in lives saved, with a potential 50 per cent reduction in preventable maternal and child deaths, advancing equity by closing the almost 19-year life expectancy gap between states.

“NSHRII implementation will ensure that our health security is strengthened and we have a pandemic-ready health system. At the last count, under the roadmap, we have put in place not less [than] 21 new strategic policies to drive our health agenda, health insurance coverage is being expanded, new health infrastructure [is] being provided including over 500 new high impact projects, 13 new federal tertiary health institutions and six cancer centres of excellence.

“As we give accounts of our stewardship at this JAR event for 2025, I wish to call on our State governments; the BHCPF requires your counterpart funding, our health insurance strategies need more robust implementation and we need more political capital at the state level with relevant policies implementation and necessary resource allocation. We need our development partners to continue to improve alignment with NHSRII and step up catalytic support that helps us to leverage, not substitute domestic resources.”

There were several other commitments from various stakeholders including members of the National Assembly, international partners and the private sector.