Abuja: The Federal Government has announced the disbursement of more than N192 billion aimed at strengthening primary healthcare facilities throughout Nigeria since the commencement of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) disbursements in 2019. Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), disclosed this information during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the recent National Health Financing Policy Dialogue, themed ‘Reimagining the Future of Health Financing in Nigeria’ and organized by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) alongside partners, provided a platform to explore financing models for equitable, sustainable, and accessible healthcare for Nigerians. Aina highlighted the challenges posed by currency fluctuations and rising service costs on Nigeria’s health system, despite increasing budget allocations at federal and state levels. He noted that out-of-pocket expenditure continues to dominate healthcare spending, with the public sector’s contribution standing at just 14 per cent.
Aina revealed that the government has mobilised N3.5 billion, with 60 per cent sourced from mechanisms such as the BHCPF, Global Fund, Gavi, and PEPFAR. This mobilisation was facilitated through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) and the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative. Currently, 8,309 facilities across the nation receive quarterly funds under the BHCPF, with allocations recently increased from an average of N300,000 to between N600,000 and N800,000 per quarter, contingent on facility size and patient volume.
The reform, known as BHCPF 2.0, aims to address operational costs at the facility level, encompassing support for human resources, essential commodities, and infrastructure. Despite growing budget allocations, Aina pointed out that the costs associated with healthcare delivery, vaccines, TB medicines, malaria commodities, and operational programmes are escalating at an even faster pace.
He emphasized the government’s commitment to addressing existing financing gaps through enhanced co-financing at federal, state, and local government levels, coupled with performance-based accountability measures. The Federal Government is poised to implement a direct funding mechanism nationwide to improve accountability in healthcare spending, with a model already piloted in four to five states.
Aina also highlighted concerns regarding vaccine accountability, revealing that between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of non-campaign vaccines in Nigeria remain unaccounted for, potentially due to wastage or procurement inefficiencies. The Federal Government is conducting state-level analysis to address these accountability issues and is investigating discrepancies in vaccine utilization across several sub-national units.
He announced that efficiency measures have allowed the government to reduce projected vaccine procurement costs for the next five years from 1.5 billion dollars to one billion dollars, ensuring more strategic spending of limited resources.