FG Approves N40.7bn for States Under Basic Healthcare Fund

• Expands coverage to 13,000 PHCs

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has approved N40.7 billion for disbursement to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

The government also said it was expanding the scheme to over 13,000 primary healthcare facilities nationwide.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, announced the development on Wednesday in Abuja at the 16th Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) meeting of the BHCPF.

Pate said fiscal reforms introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration had increased government revenue, leading to almost doubling of monthly inflows into the BHCPF and allocations to states.

He stated, “The monthly disbursements into the fund have almost doubled, as well as what the states are receiving, and we’re channelling those increased resources to support primary healthcare delivery in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

The minister disclosed that MOC approved the addition of 5,000 primary healthcare centres to the scheme, bringing the total number of benefiting facilities to more than 13,000.

He said selection of the new facilities will be based on equity considerations, including population size, disease burden, and distance to healthcare services.

According to Pate, the N40.7 billion represents the federal government’s contribution from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

But he urged states and local governments to complement it with increased health spending.

He said, “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.”

The minister said the committee also reviewed measures to improve access to quality and affordable medical commodities and ensure funds translated to better health outcomes at the grassroots.

On staffing, Pate said savings made through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) would be used to recruit frontline health workers, with a plan to transfer responsibility for their employment to state governments within the next three years. He urged states to prepare for the transition.

He also raised concern over outbreaks of Lassa fever, cholera, and diphtheria, stating that while cholera case fatality remains low, about 95 per cent of cases are concentrated in one state. He advised parents to ensure routine immunisation against diphtheria.

Pate called on civil society, community leaders, the media, and the ICPC joint task force to monitor fund utilisation.

Equally speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said government was strengthening accountability and exploring joint procurement to reduce cost of medical commodities.

He added that the committee approved inclusion of prisoners in the Vulnerable Group Health Insurance Fund, extending basic healthcare coverage to about 90,000 inmates nationwide.