The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Pate, announced on Wednesday that N45 billion has been directly disbursed to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) nationwide through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. This announcement was made during the ongoing three-day Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review in Abuja, themed “It’s for all of us: Accelerating our health sector reforms together.”
Dr. Pate explained, “The Basic Health Care Provision Fund 2.0 reform uses equity principles to allocate financial and human resources to over 8,000 primary healthcare centres. So far, N45 billion has been directly disbursed to the states to support our population’s health needs.”
He also highlighted the successful mobilization of over N3 billion in complementary funding over the past three years, including N2.1 billion already confirmed, which is aimed at enhancing the Federal Government’s efforts in the sector. “In the past year, several healthcare facilities have been revitalized, and 2,600 are in the final stages of upgrades through state governments. Additionally, 2,000 more facilities will be revitalized as part of this initiative.”
As part of the government’s commitment to improving the health workforce, Pate revealed that 120,000 frontline health workers are being retrained. “Over 40,000 have already completed their retraining, and we are on track to exceed this target,” he said.
He also reported significant progress in reducing infectious diseases, citing a 40% reduction in diarrhoeal diseases, a 24% decrease in tuberculosis (TB), and a 12% drop in HIV cases.
“With continued political commitment, we can accelerate our progress. Seventeen states have shown improved performance in the use of modern contraceptives, and six states have already doubled their efforts,” Pate added.
In another notable development, Pate mentioned the President’s executive order that has led to the submission of business cases from at least 40 companies interested in investing in local health manufacturing. A Memorandum of Understanding has also been signed with Afreximbank for a $1 billion credit line.
“We are also making strides in health security. Based on recent surveys, public perception of Nigeria’s health system has improved, with about half of Nigerians supporting the direction of the country’s health system under the President’s leadership, and more than half confident in the government’s ability to manage health emergencies effectively,” Pate noted.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who represented the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the event, acknowledged progress in health indicators but emphasized that the country’s under-five and infant mortality rates remain too high. He stressed the need for continued efforts to address neonatal mortality and malnutrition, calling for sustained collaboration among all stakeholders to improve health outcomes across Nigeria.
While commending the Health Minister for his work in translating health policies into action, Governor Uzodinma emphasized that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum is fully committed to the health sector compact and to improving the country’s overall health infrastructure.
“The engagements conducted across all 36 states have aligned key stakeholders on sector-wide initiatives, ensuring everyone understands their role in achieving better health outcomes for Nigerians,” he concluded.
