84% Of Presidential Health Targets Achieved, Maternal Deaths Drop By 17% — Minister

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has said that Nigeria’s health sector is recording historic progress with major improvements in service delivery, accountability, and citizen confidence across the country.

The minister, who stated this yesterday at the opening of the 2025 Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review, themed “All Hands, One Mission” in Abuja, revealed that 84 per cent of key health performance indicators under the Presidential Health Sector Renewal Compact have been achieved as of the third quarter of 2025.

Prof. Pate said 35 of the 36 states and the FCT have conducted their State Joint Annual Health Reviews with active citizen participation, while all 36 states and the FCT now have Annual Operational Plans aligned with the National Health Sector Strategic Blueprint.

He said 72 per cent of states have established functional coordination mechanisms for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, while all 774 local government areas now have National Health Fellows and Public Financial Management Officers, surpassing national targets.
Presenting key outcomes, Pate disclosed that maternal deaths have declined by 17 per cent and newborn deaths by 12 per cent across 172 high-burden local government areas under the Miyami model.

These results, he said, are the outcome of data-driven interventions focusing on high-risk communities.

“Over 15,000 community health workers have been recruited, 70,000 frontline health workers retrained, and 435 primary healthcare facilities revitalised,” he said.

He also announced that 4,000 free caesarean sections have been conducted in National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA)-empanelled facilities, following the inclusion of emergency obstetric care under the national insurance benefit package.

Data from the District Health Information System (DHIS-2) showed that over 90 per cent of deliveries in 2025 were attended by skilled birth attendants, a major leap from previous years, Prof Pate said, adding that antenatal care coverage has surpassed 50 per cent, while family planning uptake has increased by 10 per cent between the first and third quarters of 2025.

The minister noted that primary health care utilisation in Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) facilities jumped from 10 million visits in early 2024 to 45 million by mid-2025, evidence, he said, of “renewed public confidence” in the system.

The minister emphasised that sustaining the gains will require increased domestic financing, stronger local manufacturing of medicines and vaccines, and innovative funding options such as fiscal measures on sugar-sweetened beverages and public-private partnerships.

The annual review meeting brought together federal and state officials, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, and representatives from civil society. It serves as an accountability platform to assess sector performance and renew commitments under the Health Sector Renewal Compact, which now includes local governments, private sector, traditional and religious institutions, and civil society organisations.