Nigeria's health insurance covers 22M Nigerians as system ranks 4th in Africa
Nigeria's health insurance enrolment rose from 16 million to 22 million Nigerians over the past three years (2023-2026), while the national health system climbed to fourth place in Africa behind South Africa, Tunisia and Kenya. Coordinating Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate revealed these gains after co-chairing the 15th Expanded Ministerial Oversight Committee on the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) in Abuja. The BHCPF has disbursed ₦235 billion of the ₦339 billion released since its establishment 12 years ago—nearly 70% of funds—with accelerated disbursement under President Tinubu's administration strengthening frontline delivery.
These investments enabled over 8,000 Primary Healthcare Centres to receive direct facility financing, expanded emergency medical services nationwide, and strengthened disease surveillance. Specifically, more than 48,000 women received free comprehensive emergency obstetric care, and emergency medical services delivered life-saving interventions to over 130,000 Nigerians. Preliminary findings from the 2026 Mini Demographic and Health Survey show improved antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, childhood immunisation and child health outcomes. Beyond routine care, the FG approved BHCPF-funded Ebola preparedness funding for all 36 states and the FCT to detect, prevent and respond to outbreaks, complementing the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness.
Pate urged state and local governments to meet their BHCPF counterpart funding obligations and address staffing shortages at primary healthcare facilities to sustain progress. With health insurance now covering about 13% of Nigeria's population (per Nairametrics' 2025 State of Health Report), will states fulfill their funding commitments to expand coverage further, or will funding gaps slow the recent gains in maternal care and emergency services?