President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed that more than N98 billion was disbursed in 2025 to strengthen primary healthcare delivery nationwide, marking one of the largest single-year grassroots health investments in Nigeria’s history.
Speaking at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Health Convention and Roundtable 1.0 in Abuja, the President said the funds were released through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to support operational expenses in over 8,300 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the country.
Represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, Tinubu described the intervention as a cornerstone of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at repositioning healthcare as a driver of national development.
According to the President, the funding framework is being expanded to cover an additional 5,212 PHCs, bringing the total number of benefitting facilities to more than 13,500 nationwide.
He disclosed that 2,565 PHCs have already been revitalised, while 1,456 are undergoing rehabilitation. The upgraded centres now operate 24-hour services, staffed by trained health professionals and equipped with essential medicines, medical supplies, and stable electricity and water.
Tinubu stressed that expanding and strengthening primary healthcare is critical to improving access, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
In a major push to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses, the President announced that over 10 million vulnerable Nigerians have been enrolled in health insurance schemes.
The move, he said, is designed to improve affordability and guarantee access to essential services for low-income households.
Highlighting workforce development, Tinubu recalled his 2023 directive to retrain 120,000 primary healthcare workers within four years.
“In just two years, over 78,000 frontline health workers have been trained,” he said, noting that beneficiaries include doctors, nurses, midwives, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), and Junior CHEWs.
The President also pointed to progress under the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which is currently tracking pregnant women across 172 high-burden local government areas.
More than 100,000 pregnant women have been linked to health facilities for antenatal, delivery, and postnatal services, with free emergency maternal and newborn care provided at supported centres.
Under the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Tinubu said the government is working to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported medicines by incentivising local pharmaceutical production, strengthening regulatory systems, and promoting backward integration in active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The President urged APC governors and lawmakers to align with federal health reforms by increasing state health budgets toward the 15 per cent Abuja Declaration benchmark and publishing measurable annual health scorecards.
“A country cannot be prosperous if its citizens are unhealthy,” Tinubu declared, challenging party leaders to institutionalise health reform and ensure measurable progress across all tiers of government.
He also called on private sector players, development partners, traditional rulers, and faith leaders to collaborate with the government in delivering accessible and affordable healthcare services nationwide.
