Abuja: Prof. Mohammed Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, emphasized that the health challenges identified in Nigeria’s Country Health System and Services Profiles (CHSSP) report can be overcome. Pate, represented by Dr. Kamil Shoretire, the ministry’s Director of Health, Planning, Research, and Statistics, made this statement during the official unveiling of Nigeria’s CHSSP in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Nigeria’s CHSSP is the inaugural edition of the African Health Observatory Platform on Health Systems and Policies (AHOP), offering comprehensive reviews of African countries’ health systems and services. The profile was published by the Health Policy Research Group at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which acts as the Nigerian National Centre for AHOP.
Pate highlighted that addressing these challenges requires multi-stakeholder efforts. He noted that the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), launched by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aims to tackle these issues. This initiative provides a unified roadmap to transform Nigeria’s health system through enhanced governance, reduced financial barriers, and systematic capacity building.
He also mentioned that the Federal Government is working to address the challenges of low government expenditure in the health sector, reliance on private health facilities, and high out-of-pocket expenditure through its reforms. The Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), launched in August 2024 with a $1.2 billion investment, ensures that all stakeholders operate under a single, unified strategy to maximize efficiency and impact.
Pate further stated that the government is striving to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. It has increased enrolment in the National Health Insurance Scheme from 16.7 million to over 19.4 million in the past year. The government is also strengthening primary health care through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, with allocations rising from N80 billion in 2024 to N298.42 billion in 2025.
Through the Presidential Initiative for unlocking the Health Care Value Chain, a $5 billion project pipeline has been created, attracting $2 billion in foreign investments.
Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, Director of Nigeria’s National Centre for AHOP, remarked that Nigeria’s CHSSP aims to provide standard evidence for informed policymaking in the health sector. The report evaluates Nigeria’s health system performance and service delivery against African benchmarks to guide appropriate action.
NAN reports that the CHSSP indicates Nigeria’s health system is performing at only 45 per cent, below the African regional average of 56 per cent. It shows that while performance outputs have improved over the last decade, they remain insufficient for achieving universal health coverage by 2030. Despite progress, Nigeria’s absolute coverage of essential services remains relatively low.
The report highlights that private health providers deliver 70 per cent of all health services despite accounting for only 35 per cent of health facilities. It also points out that about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s health infrastructure is dysfunctional, leading to significant losses from outbound health tourism. Out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for 75 per cent of total health spending, with only one in ten Nigerians having access to health insurance or risk-pooling schemes.
