The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has advised Nigerians to alert relevant authorities to investigate suspected diversions of health funds in their domains. Speaking on Channels TV Wednesday, Mr Pate charged Nigerians on behaviour change to realise that “we all lose if we allow few individuals to divert what is meant for providing basic health services in Primary Health Care Centers.” He cited the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) for primary health care (PHC) and the lack of transparency in its implementation in some states.
In March, the Nigerian government authorised the disbursement of N25 billion through the BHCPF across the states of the federation. Mr Pate revealed this at the sixth meeting of the BHCPF Ministerial Oversight Committee in Abuja, noting that the allocated funds were earmarked for direct facility financing and workforce incentives across states. Available data from the BHCPF and the Africa Health Budget Network shows that from 2019 to 2022, funds disbursed through BHCPF summed up to an estimated N89 billion.
Only 7,250 out of the 35,514 Primary Healthcare Centres in the country are currently benefiting from the BHCPF, according to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). PREMIUM TIMES delivers fact-based journalism for Nigerians, by Nigerians — and our community of supporters, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth, meticulously.
