The Coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, has announced that the federal government recruited 2,497 doctors, midwives/nurses, and community health workers (CHEWs), in the last six months to address gaps due to attrition.
This announcement was made in a Ministerial Press Briefing held at Radio House, Abuja, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, where Prof. Pate highlighted the substantial progress made in advancing the health sector since May 2023.
Emphasizing the administration’s commitment to healthcare accessibility, affordability, and quality, the minister outlined key achievements.
The key achievements
According to the health minister, the administration has prioritized the revitalization of primary healthcare facilities nationwide, focusing on adequate equipment and staffing.
- This initiative has expanded access to essential healthcare services, particularly benefiting rural and underserved areas.
- Notably, there has been an increase in the proportion of women attending Antenatal Care (ANC), with over 550,000 women now attending their first ANC, contributing to improved pregnancy outcomes and reduced maternal and child mortality.
- An additional 1,400 health facilities now have Skilled Birth Attendants, leading to an increase in health facility deliveries to 230,000 per month.
- The Federal Government is set to release the first tranche of the Basic Healthcare Fund, amounting to N50 billion. This substantial increase from the N25 billion allocated in 2022 aims to inject fresh resources into primary healthcare facilities, ensuring quality care is accessible to all citizens.
The administration has made significant strides in expanding health insurance coverage, recognizing financial barriers as deterrents to seeking medical care.
About 750,000 more Nigerians have been enrolled in health insurance since the beginning of the administration, emphasizing a commitment to providing quality health access through the Vulnerable Group Fund and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
The commitment to immunization has yielded remarkable results in protecting the population from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Robust vaccination campaigns and outreach programs have sustained immunization coverage nationwide, with over 5 million children immunized with the Penta vaccine and 10 million with Td vaccines since the inception of the diphtheria response.
