Nigeria’s national health insurance enrolment has climbed from about 16.2 million people in 2023 to 23.06 million by the third quarter of 2026, the Federal Government announced on Wednesday, as it revealed that ₦249.6 billion has gone out of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) under the Tinubu administration.
Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ado Bako disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Ado, the figure represents 77.1 per cent of the ₦323.6 billion disbursed from the Fund since its inception in 2019, to strengthen primary healthcare delivery and expand financial protection for vulnerable Nigerians.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare and Alternate Chairman of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) of the BHCPF, Dr. Iziaq Salako at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday recalled that the BHCPF was established under the National Health Act, 2014, to improve access to essential healthcare, particularly for poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
He noted that the Fund had become a central instrument for implementing the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative launched by President Tinubu in December 2023, alongside the Health Sector Renewal Compact and the adoption of the Sector-Wide Approach to align health sector planning, financing and accountability.
Dr. Salako, who spoke on behalf of the Ministerial Oversight Committee, explained that the briefing provided a comprehensive account of public resources committed to the Fund, achievements recorded, implementation challenges and priorities for the next phase of reform.
According to the Minister, the updated BHCPF Guidelines 2.0 introduced stronger performance-linked disbursement, direct facility financing, improved accountability mechanisms, expanded facility coverage and the use of unique beneficiary identifiers to improve transparency and ensure that public resources deliver measurable health outcomes.
He disclosed that total releases to the Fund stood at ₦422.3 billion as of September 2026, with ₦323.6 billion disbursed. Following the MOC’s approval of an additional ₦40.76 billion at its 16th meeting on 14 October 2026, cumulative disbursements are expected to rise to ₦364.3 billion, of which ₦290.2 billion would have been disbursed under the Tinubu administration.
Dr. Salako further stated that the administration’s commitment to domestic health financing was reflected in increased budgetary provisions and statutory releases to the Fund. He noted that the 2025 federal health budget increased by nearly 60 per cent, while the 2026 Appropriation Bill proposed ₦2.48 trillion for health investment, representing approximately six per cent of the budget net of liabilities.
On the latest approved allocation, the Minister explained that the ₦40.76 billion for the third quarter of 2026 would be distributed across the four BHCPF gateways as follows: ₦19.87 billion to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), ₦18.34 billion to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), ₦2.04 billion to Emergency Medical Treatment and ₦509.48 million to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
He said the allocations, in line with the established distribution formula of 48.75 per cent, 45 per cent, five per cent and 1.25 per cent respectively, were intended to strengthen health insurance coverage, improve primary healthcare services, enhance emergency medical response and support disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness.
On financial protection, Dr. Salako reported that national health insurance enrolment had increased from approximately 16.2 million people in 2023 to 23.06 million by the third quarter of 2026. He clarified that BHCPF-supported coverage included 3,182,943 vulnerable Nigerians with National Identification Numbers, while the Fund had also supported free vesicovaginal fistula surgeries and rehabilitation, emergency caesarean sections and other comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care interventions for 96,068 women and babies.
He added that the MOC had approved health insurance coverage for approximately 90,000 Nigerians in correctional facilities, with implementation expected to expand access to essential services for this population.
At the primary healthcare level, the Minister disclosed that direct facility financing currently supported 8,309 primary healthcare centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with a planned expansion to an additional 5,212 facilities, bringing the projected total to 13,521. He said the number of facilities attaining Level 2 readiness had increased from 1,748 in 2024 to 3,202 in the third quarter of 2026.
He also reported improvements in primary healthcare utilisation, with general attendance increasing from a baseline of 34.55 million in 2023 to 43.06 million by the second quarter of 2026. The Fund had also contributed to increased deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants and improved uptake of the third dose of the pentavalent vaccine among eligible children.
Addressing health workforce sustainability, Dr. Salako said the Federal Government was complementing investments in infrastructure and service delivery with programmes to strengthen the availability and capacity of health workers. He noted that 78,054 frontline health workers had been trained towards the national target of retraining 120,000 personnel, according to records presented at the June 2026 health sector review.
The Minister emphasised that the success of the BHCPF would ultimately be measured by its impact on Nigerians, particularly vulnerable households, pregnant women, children and communities with limited access to essential healthcare.
