The Federal Government has announced that it has achieved all 41 performance commitments set for Nigeria’s health sector under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with 3,526 primary healthcare centres revitalised across the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 3rd Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review (JAR) in Abuja, while presenting the administration’s scorecard under the theme, “Together to Higher Grounds.”
According to him, the achievements reflected three years of reforms aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery, improving access to essential services and reducing the financial burden of illness on Nigerians.
He said the government had also commenced work on another 900 primary healthcare facilities, while health insurance coverage had increased from approximately 16 million to nearly 24 million Nigerians within three years.
Pate noted that the administration inherited a health system characterised by inadequate financing, fragmented governance, unreliable essential commodities and an uneven distribution of healthcare workers.
He said: “When we began three years ago, we undertook a detailed review. Financing was inadequate, often poorly spent and unfairly distributed. Governance was fragmented across levels of government, regulatory responsibilities were insufficiently coordinated, and partner support was not fully aligned with national priorities.”
The minister explained that the government subsequently organised its reforms around four pillars: improving governance, transparency and accountability; strengthening population health; unlocking the healthcare value chain; and improving health security and resilience.
On primary healthcare and maternal health, the minister disclosed that the government had recruited 19,758 skilled birth attendants across 22 states and 4,747 community health workers in 10 states.
He added that 78,054 frontline health workers had received training, while admission quotas in pre-service health training institutions had doubled.
Highlighting improvements in maternal and newborn healthcare, Pate said the proportion of Basic Health Care Provision Fund-supported facilities in areas covered by the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) with at least two midwives or community health extension workers had increased from 12 per cent to 91 per cent.
He said 99 per cent of the facilities in the initiative’s coverage areas were now connected to emergency referral systems.
The minister further disclosed that skilled deliveries recorded at BHCPF-supported facilities increased from 4.8 million in 2023 to 7.9 million by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
Similarly, fourth antenatal care visits rose from six million to 8.7 million, while outpatient attendance increased from 32.4 million to 43 million.
“Through MAMII, we have mapped and linked 750,000 pregnant women to functional health facilities. Emergency transport now operates in 171 of the 172 MAMII local government areas and has transported 104,566 women and newborns.”
Pate added that the government’s free emergency obstetric care programme had delivered almost 100,000 services in two years, including 80,906 caesarean sections, approximately 9,100 newborn services and 6,059 vesicovaginal fistula repairs.
According to him, deaths from obstetric emergencies had declined by 22 per cent in participating facilities, while maternal case fatality in MAMII areas had reduced by approximately 60 per cent between 2024 and 2026.
On financial protection, the minister said the government had reduced dialysis costs by up to 80 per cent for 5,106 patients, while 710 cancer patients had enrolled for an 80 per cent subsidy on selected medicines through a partnership between the National Health Insurance Authority and Roche.
He also said the free 48-hour emergency care programme, covering 507 accredited facilities, had benefited more than 15,000 Nigerians, with hospitals receiving N2.7 billion in reimbursements.
“Lifesaving treatment for emergency patients, including gunshot victims, must not be delayed for a police report,” he emphasised.
On local production of medicines and medical supplies, Pate disclosed that 10 factories or manufacturing lines had been commissioned, six of them in 2026, covering pharmaceuticals, rapid diagnostic tests, long-lasting insecticidal nets and medical oxygen.
He said the Presidential Executive Order on healthcare manufacturing had supported N24 billion in tax waivers for pharmaceutical manufacturers between 2025 and 2026, alongside 12 technology-transfer agreements and a prospective investment pipeline exceeding $5 billion.
The minister also identified the containment of the imported Ebola case as evidence of improved national health security, commending the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, port health officials and development partners for their coordinated response.
However, Pate acknowledged that challenges remained despite improvements in most of the indicators reviewed which showed improvement in 12 of the 13 indicators assessed, while stunting worsened slightly.
He also disclosed that patient satisfaction had declined from 76 per cent in 2024 to 71 per cent in 2026, although the proportion of Nigerians who believed the health system was improving increased from 47 to 57 per cent.
“We must respond to the concerns behind those findings, particularly affordability and the quality of patients’ experience,” he said.
On the challenges ahead, Pate identified inadequate health financing, uneven distribution of healthcare workers and the need to strengthen specialist hospitals as major priorities.
He said the government was working towards increasing domestic health financing, including efforts to raise the Basic Health Care Provision Fund allocation to two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The minister also disclosed that under the health memorandum of understanding with the United States, Washington was expected to provide nearly $2 billion in grant funding between April 2026 and December 2030, while Nigeria planned almost $3 billion in additional domestic health financing.
On the health workforce, Pate expressed concern over the concentration of medical professionals in urban centres, particularly Abuja and Lagos, leaving many rural and underserved communities with inadequate personnel.
He added that the government was engaging professional associations on remuneration and other incentives, with the collective bargaining process advanced to the Presidential Salaries Committee.
Pate called on state governments to sustain their commitment to healthcare reforms, stressing that the Federal Government could not independently deliver the desired transformation without effective collaboration with states and local governments.
He particularly commended Jigawa, Abia, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Adamawa for various interventions in health-sector planning, primary healthcare revitalisation and emergency transport services.
“These results have been achieved together. Federal action depends on the commitment and execution of states and local governments,” he said.
The minister urged stakeholders to sustain the reforms and ensure that increased investments translated into improved healthcare services and better health outcomes for Nigerians.
“Our responsibility is to deepen implementation and strengthen the institutions and financing arrangements that will sustain it. As we undertake this third Joint Annual Review, let us use the evidence before us to agree the work ahead and follow through on our responsibilities,” he added.