The Federal Government has pledged to monitor whether vulnerable Nigerians covered by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) receive healthcare services without facing unaffordable charges.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while reviewing three years of the fund’s implementation and progress in domestic health financing.
Salako said national health insurance enrolment rose from about 16.2 million people in 2023 to 23.06 million by the third quarter of 2026, while 3.182 million vulnerable Nigerians with National Identification Numbers had been identified for BHCPF-supported coverage.
He said the government would assess how many beneficiaries actually received covered services without prohibitive charges.
According to the minister, the fund has supported free vesico-vaginal fistula surgeries and rehabilitation, emergency Caesarean sections and other emergency maternal and newborn care interventions for 96,068 women and babies.
He added that the programme also supports health insurance coverage for people living with HIV and tuberculosis patients.
Salako said N422.3 billion had been released to the fund since its first disbursement in 2019, while N323.6 billion had been disbursed as of September 2026. Of the amount disbursed, N249.6 billion was released during President Bola Tinubu’s first three years in office.
He said the BHCPF Ministerial Oversight Committee had approved an additional N40.7 billion, which would raise cumulative disbursements to N364.3 billion.
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On primary healthcare, Salako said 8,309 facilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory currently receive direct funding. An approved expansion would extend support to another 5,212 facilities, bringing the projected total to 13,521.
He added that the number of primary healthcare centres meeting level-two readiness requirements increased from 1,748 in 2024 to 3,202 in the third quarter of 2026.
The minister also reported increased attendance at primary healthcare facilities, rising from 34.551 million in 2023 to 43 million in the second quarter of 2026. Deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants increased by 63.6 per cent, while the proportion of eligible children receiving the third dose of pentavalent vaccine rose by about 20 per cent.
Salako urged state governments to sustain their financial commitments to primary healthcare, citing Katsina State’s release of N240.79 million to expand health insurance coverage.
He said the ministry was strengthening financial oversight under the BHCPF 2.0 Guidelines and working with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to monitor spending and ensure funds reached intended facilities.
On workforce development, the minister said 78,054 frontline health workers had been trained against a target of 120,000.
He added that the oversight committee had approved phased salary support for 13,800 community-based health workers and skilled birth attendants, with the Federal Government covering eligible costs fully in the first year before gradually transferring responsibility to state governments.
Salako said the fund also complements the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, which targets 172 local government areas with high maternal and newborn mortality rates.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with states to meet their statutory obligations under the National Health Act, 2014, and improve access to affordable healthcare nationwide.
