The federal government says it has approved the disbursement of N40.7 billion for healthcare delivery through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) for third quarter 2026.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the 16th BHCPF Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) meeting in Abuja.

Mr Pate said the disbursement reflected increasing government revenue, which he attributed to the macro-fiscal reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“N40.7 billion will go to all the states of the federation. That’s the federal government’s contribution with the increasing revenues that are coming, and that’s from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF),” he noted.

He said the monthly disbursements into the fund had almost doubled, alongside the amounts received by states, adding that the resources were being channelled towards strengthening Primary Healthcare (PHC) delivery across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Pate, however, said the federal government’s contribution should not be the limit of health financing, stressing that state and local governments must complement the funding.

“That’s not the limit. States should at least put that alongside the local government and even do more, because these are issues at the subnational level,” he said.

The minister said the MOC had also deliberated on expanding the number of PHC facilities benefiting from the fund, with an additional 5,000 facilities to be included in the existing network of more than 8,000.

He stated that the expansion would consider equity, disease burden, population distribution and distance to health facilities to ensure that communities with greater healthcare needs were prioritised.

“The MOC deliberated on those, noted the progress, and is going to add these 5,000 facilities with equity consideration so that the burden of disease is considered and the distance to the population is considered,” Mr Pate said.

He added that the committee discussed measures to improve access to quality and affordable health commodities, including strategies to ensure that Nigerians benefited from increased funding.

On human resources for health, Mr Pate said savings made through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) would be used to recruit frontline health workers.

He said the workers would be transitioned over the next three years, with states expected to assume increasing responsibility for their employment and recruit additional personnel.

The minister also highlighted the need for improved state-level funding to strengthen responses to disease outbreaks, including Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria.

He stated that cholera case fatality was low overall, noting that though about 95 per cent of reported cases were concentrated in one state, while Lassa fever recorded a high number of deaths.

Mr Pate said adequate funding by states could help address the outbreaks, urging parents and caregivers to ensure that children received routine vaccinations against diphtheria.

He stated, “Those children that are vaccinated are unlikely to get the diphtheria disease.”

He called on civil society organisations, community leaders, the media and the joint task force involving the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to monitor the utilisation of the fund.

He stated, “The resources are flowing and we will continue to ensure that the resources get to their intended destinations and be useful for the intended purpose.”

He said the administration was committed to rebuilding the country’s healthcare system, adding that the federal government was also investing in tertiary healthcare infrastructure, including diagnostic centres and cancer facilities.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, said the government was prioritising both increased funding and efficient utilisation of resources to maximise their impact.

Mr Salako said the MOC discussed co-procurement arrangements to improve the prices of health commodities supplied to PHC facilities.

He added that collaboration with civil society organisations and the ICPC was part of efforts to strengthen accountability and ensure value for money in the implementation of the fund.

Mr Salako also announced that the committee had decided to extend coverage under the Vulnerable Group Health Insurance Fund to prisoners in Nigeria.

“Today we took a decision that prisoners in Nigeria will now be covered under the vulnerable health insurance fund.

“About 90,000 of them through this process will now begin to receive basic health care provision through the enablement of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration,” he said.

BHCPF is a government financing mechanism established under the National Health Act.

It supports the delivery of basic healthcare services, particularly through PHC facilities and mechanisms for expanding access to essential services.

The MOC provides oversight for the implementation of the fund, including reviewing progress, addressing operational challenges and strengthening accountability to ensure that resources translate into improved access to healthcare.

(NAN)