FG Disbursed N249.6bn To BHCPF In 3 Years, Targets 17,600 Facilities

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this during a ministerial briefing on three years of implementation and reforms under the BHCPF, in Abuja.

He also revealed the federal government’s plans to expand direct financing to at least 17,600 primary healthcare facilities and provide health insurance coverage for about 90,000 inmates in correctional centres nationwide.

Salako, who spoke on behalf of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC), said the fund remained a critical instrument for improving access to essential healthcare services, particularly for poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

He said total releases to the fund stood at N422.3 billion as of September 2026, while cumulative disbursements were expected to rise from N323.6 billion to N364.3 billion following the approval of an additional N40.76 billion by the MOC on October 14, 2026.

Of the projected N364.3 billion, N290.2 billion would have been disbursed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The minister attributed the reforms to the implementation of the BHCPF Guidelines 2.0, which introduced performance-linked disbursements, direct facility financing, stronger accountability measures and the use of unique beneficiary identifiers to improve transparency.

Established under the National Health Act, 2014, the BHCPF is designed to improve access to basic healthcare services and reduce financial barriers to treatment, particularly among vulnerable populations.

Salako said the fund had become central to the implementation of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative launched by the Tinubu administration in December 2023.

On financial protection, the minister said national health insurance enrolment increased from approximately 16.2 million people in 2023 to 23.06 million by the third quarter of 2026.

He disclosed that 3,182,943 vulnerable Nigerians with National Identification Numbers had received health insurance coverage through the BHCPF.

The fund had also supported free vesicovaginal fistula surgeries and rehabilitation, emergency caesarean sections and other emergency obstetric and newborn care interventions for 96,068 women and babies.

According to him, the MOC had approved health insurance coverage for approximately 90,000 inmates in correctional facilities to expand their access to essential healthcare services.

At the primary healthcare level, Salako said 8,309 facilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were currently receiving direct facility financing.

He said the government planned to extend the financing arrangement to an additional 5,212 facilities, bringing the projected total to 13,521.

Looking ahead, Salako said the federal government was working with the National Assembly to increase the statutory allocation to the BHCPF from one per cent to two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The proposal would also expand the fund’s scope to include areas such as health research and promotion.

He said the government intended to improve efficiency and accountability, expand direct financing to at least 17,600 facilities and strengthen state-level commitments to the fund in line with the National Health Act.

The minister said the success of the BHCPF would ultimately be measured by its impact on vulnerable households, pregnant women, children and communities with limited access to essential healthcare.

He added that sustained collaboration among federal and state governments, healthcare institutions and development partners was necessary to ensure that increased domestic health financing translated into improved health outcomes and protection against unaffordable medical expenses.