The federal government has approved N40.7 billion for primary healthcare delivery across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). The government is also expanding the number of primary healthcare facilities benefiting from the fund by 5,000, bringing the total to more than 13,000 facilities.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of the 16th Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) meeting on the BHCPF. Mr Pate said the N40.7 billion represented the federal government’s contribution from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the quarter. He said increased government revenue nearly doubled monthly disbursements into the fund and allocations to states.
Mr Pate said the MOC would select the additional 5,000 facilities based on equity considerations, including disease burden, population, and distance to healthcare services. “The MOC deliberated on those, noted the progress, and is going to add these 5,000 facilities with equity considerations, so that the burden of disease, distance, and population are considered,” he said. He said the expansion was intended to channel increased resources towards primary healthcare delivery across the country.
However, Mr Pate said the federal government’s intervention should not be seen as a substitute for spending by state and local governments. “That’s not the limit. States should at least put that alongside the local government and even do more, because these are issues at the subnational level,” he said. He urged states and local governments to increase spending on health, education and other social services.
The minister also said savings made through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) would be used to recruit frontline health workers.