Stakeholders in the Nigeria health sector, under the aegis of Nigeria Universal Health Coverage Action Network (NUHCAN), have commended the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, over the impact in the health sector especially basic healthcare in Nigeria since his assumption of office.
This was made known in a statement by the former minister of health and Chairperson Board of Trustees Prof. Adenike Grange, and the Executive Secretary Board of Trustees, Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje, where they projected a strengthened partnership between government, development partners, civil society and communities, anchored on transparency, accountability and results oriented service delivery.
The group noted that, ‘The Nigeria Universal Health Coverage Actions Network (NUHCAN), wishes to warmly commend the Hon. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, CON, for the recent issuance of the red letter directive and for the timely and regular release of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), allocations since his assumption of office. In particular, NUHCAN notes with great satisfaction that the progressive evolvement of BHCPF resources to states and health facility level implements has visibly improved under this leadership.
‘We believe this is a welcome and critical step towards strengthening primary health care (PHC), systems, advancing universal health coverage (UHC), and realizing the vision of leaving no one behind, anchored on functional PHC and financial risk protection — which are core tenets of NUHCAN’s advocacy agenda.
‘While we celebrate this progress, NUHCAN also emphasises that the timely release of funds must be matched by transparent, accountable, and results oriented utilisation. To that end, we call for the following:
1. Support For Civil Society Monitoring And Participation.
We respectfully request that the Ministry make available to independent civil society actors — including NUHCAN’s state networks and affiliated organisations — full visibility of BHCPF funded budgets, expenditure reports, allocation schedules and outcome metrics. Meaningful engagement of CSOs in tracking usage of resources is vital to safeguarding the integrity of the fund and ensuring that spending aligns with its intended purpose of improving frontline PHC services.
2. Strengthened Oversight Across States And Facilities.
The BHCPF is premised on delivering essential health services to underserved populations and achieving equity of access. To secure this goal, we urge state governments, PHC boards, facility management committees and local stakeholders to prioritise real time audits, community scorecards, feedback loops and public disclosure of facility level performance. Civil society organisations stand ready to collaborate in designing and implementing such monitoring frameworks.
3. Focus On Outcomes, Not Just Releases.
While timely release of funds is a necessary condition, it is not sufficient. We encourage the Ministry and state health authorities to ensure that funds lead to measurable improvements — for example increased service utilisation, improved quality of care, reduced out of pocket expenditures and strengthened PHC workforce capacity. NUHCAN will support advocacy for the establishment of clear indicators and regular public reporting on these dimensions.
4. Capacity Building And System Strengthening.
We recognise that some states and PHC facilities may face capacity constraints (in financial management, procurement, human resources, data and M&E). We therefore urge the Ministry to prioritise technical assistance, standardized disbursement and accounting templates, and mentoring for facility‐level managers. CSO partners like NUHCAN can assist in delivering training, facilitation and community level engagement.
‘NUHCAN reiterates its appreciation to the Minister and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for their leadership in releasing BHCPF funds more consistently. We pledge our organisation’s full cooperation, through our national network of state level CSOs, to monitor and support the effective application of those funds—to ensure that the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised Nigerians.
We look forward to a period of strengthened partnership between government, development partners, civil society and communities, anchored on transparency, accountability and results oriented service delivery’, the statement noted.
