By Okeoghene Akubuike
The National Health Facility Survey (NHFS) 2025 has shown that 81.6 per cent of public health facilities provided antenatal care services nationwide, improving from 79.7 per cent recorded in 2023 across the country.
The survey, released by the National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja, said that in spite of improvements in antenatal care services, persistent gaps remained in critical maternal, newborn and child health interventions nationwide.
The report said secondary health facilities recorded higher availability of antenatal care services at 92.6 per cent, compared to 81.1 per cent in primary health facilities across the country.
According to the survey, coverage of key antenatal interventions remained high, with 92.2 per cent providing folic acid, 88.9 per cent offering intermittent preventive treatment, and 94.0 per cent administering tetanus toxoid immunisation.
However, only 30.9 per cent of facilities provided antiretroviral services as part of antenatal care, while 84.2 per cent offered HIV testing services to pregnant women nationwide.
The report also showed that family planning counselling during antenatal care was widely available, with 91.9 per cent of health facilities offering the service across the country.
It, however, revealed low availability of family planning commodities, with 19.4 per cent of facilities having pills, 21.1 per cent injectables, 20.2 per cent male condoms, and 21.5 per cent implants.
In immunisation services, the survey found moderate availability of vaccines, with coverage hovering around 50 per cent across most antigens in public health facilities nationwide overall.
“These include measles vaccine at 52.7 per cent, pentavalent at 51.8 per cent, oral polio at 52.4 per cent, BCG at 51.7 per cent, and yellow fever at 51.8 per cent.”
“Rotavirus was 48.5 per cent, pneumococcal 49.4 per cent, inactivated polio 51.7 per cent, human papillomavirus 49.0 per cent, and meningitis vaccine at 50.5 per cent.”
On elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the report revealed that knowledge of protocols among clinical staff declined to 68.6 per cent in 2025 from 76.3 per cent in 2023 nationwide.
It added that while 95.5 per cent of health workers identified the need to test pregnant women for HIV, knowledge gaps persisted in partner testing at 55.9 per cent.
The survey further showed that 70.1 per cent of public health facilities provided delivery and postnatal care services nationwide, reflecting moderate service availability across different levels of healthcare delivery systems.
“Among the facility types, 92.4 per cent were secondary facilities, while 68.9 per cent were primary facilities,” the report stated, highlighting disparities between levels of care provision nationwide.
The report said availability of skilled birth attendants stood at 65.6 per cent when CHEWs were included, but dropped significantly to 13.8 per cent when they were excluded nationwide.
“This highlights heavy reliance on task-shifted cadres,” the report said, noting the implications for quality of maternal and newborn healthcare services across facilities nationwide.
The report highlighted uneven availability of essential delivery commodities, with 57.7 per cent of facilities having oxytocin, 37.8 per cent magnesium sulphate, and 37.2 per cent infant resuscitation equipment.
It also noted that only 18.6 per cent of public health facilities provided postnatal care services, indicating significant gaps in care for mothers and newborns after delivery nationwide.
On child health and nutrition, 60.0 per cent of public facilities offered growth monitoring services, while 44.6 per cent provided treatment for malnutrition across health facilities nationwide.
Availability of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines was low at 31.1 per cent, with disparities observed across regions and states in implementation and access nationwide.
The report further indicated improvement in participation in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, with 62.0 per cent of facilities participating in 2025 compared to 57.9 per cent in 2023.
The survey noted that the findings provide critical evidence to guide policy decisions, resource allocation, and targeted interventions aimed at improving equity, efficiency, and quality of healthcare delivery nationwide.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2025 survey was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
According to the report, 3,330 health facilities were selected and visited across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with a nominal sample of 90 facilities per state.
It said coverage extended to public primary and secondary health facilities as well as private facilities, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of healthcare service delivery across Nigeria’s health sector.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng )
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
