Nigeria targets 90% functional health centres, 40% health insurance coverage by 2031

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, speaking at the 2026 Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review in Abuja.

The federal government has outlined plans to ensure that at least 90 per cent of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) are functional and 40 per cent of Nigerians have health insurance coverage by 2031.

The government also aims to provide quarterly funding to at least 17,600 PHCs through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and extend maternal and newborn healthcare interventions to all 774 local government areas.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, disclosed these targets on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review (JAR) in Abuja.

Mr Salako said the government was also targeting a reduction in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure to below 50 per cent by 2031, as part of efforts to make healthcare more affordable.

He explained that the targets formed part of the government’s longer-term commitments to improving access to healthcare, strengthening financing and reducing preventable deaths.

The proposed expansion of maternal and newborn healthcare services would be implemented through the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which focuses on reducing deaths among pregnant women and newborns.

Out-of-pocket expenditure refers to money patients pay directly for healthcare services, including consultations, medicines and treatment, rather than costs covered by insurance or other financing arrangements.

The targets come as Nigeria continues to face challenges, including inadequate healthcare financing, health worker shortages, and unequal access to essential services, particularly in rural communities.

Speaking on progress under the ongoing health sector reforms, Mr Salako said nearly eight million additional Nigerians had been enrolled in health insurance since the current administration took office, including more than three million vulnerable people.

He said the government was directly supporting more than 8,000 PHCs, while over 3,000 facilities had attained Level 2 readiness, a measure of their capacity to provide essential healthcare services.

The minister also reported improvements in maternal and child health outcomes, including an approximately 60 per cent decline in facility-reported maternal deaths compared with 2024.

He said facility-reported neonatal and under-five deaths had declined by 22 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.

Mr Salako also highlighted developments in local pharmaceutical manufacturing, saying the number of active pharmaceutical companies had increased by approximately 10 per cent.

According to him, local production’s share of the pharmaceutical market increased from 30 per cent in 2023 to 50 per cent in 2026, based on figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical group and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The minister also announced that the government would unveil the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy 2026–2030 and updated task-shifting and task-sharing guidelines during the three-day review.

The guidelines are intended to provide a framework for sharing appropriate healthcare responsibilities among different categories of trained health workers.

Mr Salako said the review would also feature the presentation of the Nigeria Mini Demographic and Health Survey report, which would provide additional evidence for assessing progress in healthcare delivery.

He stressed the need to examine routine health facility data alongside survey findings to identify gaps and improve decision-making.

“Survey and routine data answer different questions, so we shall read them side by side; where they differ, we will treat that as an instruction to look deeper, not a reason to look away,” he said.

Mr Salako said the Joint Annual Review should move beyond discussions and produce specific commitments that government institutions and development partners would be required to implement.

He explained that the resolutions should identify responsible agencies, individuals and partners, with clear timelines for incorporating agreed actions into the 2027 annual operational plans.

The minister said 2027 would mark the final year of the current Health Sector Strategic Blueprint, making it necessary to assess achievements and address outstanding implementation gaps.

“This year’s theme, ‘Make the Data Count’, conveys two meanings: every number must be dependable enough to steer by, and every number must be used to change a life,” he said.

He added that health data should help authorities track patients throughout their care, from antenatal visits to delivery and childhood immunisation.

The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, Ipalibo Banigo, also called for stronger accountability and sustainable financing to achieve the government’s healthcare targets.

“With competing national priorities and declining external assistance, strengthening domestic resource mobilisation is no longer optional. It is imperative,” she said.

Ms Banigo said the legislature would continue to support healthcare reforms through appropriations and oversight, while ensuring that funds were released on time and used effectively to improve services, particularly for women, children and underserved communities.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, acknowledged that significant challenges remained despite progress in implementing health sector reforms.

Ms Kachollom said under-five and neonatal mortality rates remained far from the government’s targets, while shortages of health workers continued to affect service delivery across the country.

She also disclosed that only 22 per cent of public health events met the seven-day early response target during the review period, highlighting weaknesses in the country’s emergency preparedness and response system.

The Permanent Secretary urged stakeholders to address implementation gaps and ensure that health investments translate into better services for Nigerians.

The 2026 Joint Annual Review, held under the theme “Make the Data Count”, brings together federal and state government officials, development partners and other stakeholders to assess progress under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.

The initiative is being implemented through the Sector-Wide Approach, which seeks to improve coordination, financing and accountability in healthcare delivery.

Mr Salako said all states and the Federal Capital Territory had conducted their own reviews, allowing the national meeting to draw on findings from different parts of the country.

The three-day review is expected to identify remaining challenges and agree on priorities for 2027.

Nike Adebowale covers the health beat. She holds a degree from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. Twitter: @nikeadebowale1