The Federal Government says it will monitor whether vulnerable Nigerians covered by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) receive the healthcare services included in their coverage without facing unaffordable charges.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a news conference to review three years of the fund’s implementation and progress in domestic health financing.

Salako said national health insurance enrolment increased from about 16.2 million people in 2023 to 23.06 million by the third quarter of 2026.

He added that 3.182 million vulnerable Nigerians with National Identification Numbers had been identified as beneficiaries of BHCPF-supported health coverage.

“As we continue to distinguish these BHCPF beneficiaries from the total number insured nationally, government will continue to measure how many beneficiaries actually receive covered services without facing unaffordable charges,” he said.

Salako said the fund supported free vesico-vaginal fistula surgeries and rehabilitation, emergency Caesarean sections and other emergency obstetric and newborn care interventions for 96,068 women and babies.

He added that the fund supported insurance coverage for key populations, including people living with HIV and tuberculosis patients.

Salako said that since the first BHCPF disbursement in 2019, N422.3 billion had been released, while N323.6 billion had been disbursed as at September 2026.

Of the N323.6 billion disbursed by September 2026, N249.6 billion, representing 77.1 per cent, was disbursed during the first three years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, he said.

Salako said the BHCPF Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC), at its October meeting, approved an additional N40.7 billion for disbursement.

He said the additional amount would raise cumulative disbursements to N364.3 billion, of which N290.2 billion, or 79.7 per cent, would have been disbursed under the Tinubu administration.

“This administration has continued to prioritise the BHCPF, reflected in the increase in the budgetary allocation to BHCPF and the consistent increase in releases from N51.6 billion in 2023, and N132.2 billion between January and September 2026,” he said.

Salako attributed the increase in funding to the administration’s macro-fiscal reforms.

He said monthly statutory releases from the Consolidated Revenue Fund rose from about N8.95 billion in January 2026 to N13.08 billion before reaching N20.43 billion monthly.

“At full implementation of the 2026 appropriation, the BHCPF is expected to have received N245.1 billion by the end of 2026,” he said.

On primary healthcare (PHC), Salako said the fund provided direct financing to 8,309 PHC centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said the approved expansion plan would extend direct financing to another 5,212 facilities, bringing the projected total to 13,521.

The number of PHC centres meeting level-two readiness requirements increased from 1,748 in 2024 to 3,202 in the third quarter of 2026, he said.

Salako reported a facility-based maternal mortality rate of 15.31 per 100,000 live births and an under-five mortality rate of 0.60 per 1,000 live births as at the second quarter of 2026.

He said both indicators were below government targets.

Attendance at PHC facilities rose from a baseline of 34.551 million in 2023 to 43 million in the second quarter of 2026, according to Salako.

He also reported an increase of about 20 per cent in the proportion of eligible children under one year who received the third dose of pentavalent vaccine, while deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants increased by 63.6 per cent.

“With predictable financing, we expect our covered PHCs to meet basic operational needs, obtain essential supplies and provide more reliable maternal, newborn, child and preventive healthcare, particularly in communities that have historically had limited access,” he said.

Salako said state governments needed to sustain their commitment to ensure the continued delivery of primary healthcare services.

“The Federal Government cannot achieve a functioning PHC system on behalf of states without their sustained participation,” he said.

He cited Katsina State’s release of N240.79 million to its State Health Insurance Agency to expand health coverage and urged other states and the FCT to fulfil their obligations.

Salako said the ministry was strengthening financial oversight under the BHCPF 2.0 Guidelines and working with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to track public spending.

“We continue to insist on timely reporting, proper retirement of advances, transparent provider payment mechanisms.

“The test is not whether a release appears in a ledger, but whether the intended facility received the funds and the patient obtained the service,” Salako added.

On health workforce development, Salako said records compiled for the June 2026 health-sector review showed that 78,054 frontline health workers had been trained against a target of 120,000.

He added that the MOC had approved phased salary support for 13,800 community-based health workers and skilled birth attendants.

Under the arrangement, the Federal Government, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), would cover 100 per cent of eligible salary costs in the first year, 67 per cent in the second year and 33 per cent in the third year, after which states would assume full responsibility.

Salako said implementation would involve verifying recruitment, progressively absorbing the workers into state employment and clarifying payroll responsibilities.

He said the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, which targets 172 high-burden local government areas, complemented the BHCPF through targeted interventions, stronger referral pathways and improved service readiness.

Salako added that the government was working with states to secure their statutory commitments to the fund under the National Health Act, 2014.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the BHCPF was established under the National Health Act, 2014, to improve access to essential healthcare, particularly for poor and vulnerable Nigerians. (NAN) www.nannews.ng

Edited by Tosin Kolade