The Nigerian government has disbursed N45 billion to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the country through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, announced on Wednesday.
The funds aim to revitalise and enhance healthcare access at the grassroots level.
Speaking at the ongoing Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review in Abuja, Pate said the BHCPF 2.0 reform focuses on equity, ensuring resources are distributed fairly across over 8,000 PHCs nationwide.
“We have mobilised more than N3 billion in complementary funding, including N2.1 billion confirmed over time, to support our efforts,” Pate said. “In the last year, several facilities have been revitalised, and 2,600 are nearing completion.”
The government aims to upgrade and expand PHCs to serve Nigeria’s growing population.
According to Pate, 2,000 additional facilities will be revitalised in the coming months, and the goal is to increase the number of PHCs from 8,000 to 17,000 within the next four years.
Pate highlighted that over 40,000 frontline health workers have already been retrained as part of a broader initiative to enhance Nigeria’s health workforce. “We have committed to retraining 120,000 frontline health workers, and we are on track to exceed this target,” he said.
Minister of State for Health, Iziaq Salako, called the annual review an essential tool for evaluating health sector performance and setting priorities for the future.
The BHCPF, established in 2014, aims to strengthen the health system, particularly at the primary care level, through sustainable funding sources.
