Dr. Muyi Ania, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has disclosed that the Federal Government has digitized the management of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to strengthen transparency, accountability, and efficiency in primary healthcare financing across the country.
He made the known on Wednesday in Abuja during the National Health Financing Policy Dialogue themed “Reimagining the Future of Health Financing in Nigeria.”
The dialogue, organized by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), aims to reimagine financing models that make healthcare more equitable, sustainable, and accessible for all Nigerians.
Maximizing value amid rising costs
According to Ania, with rising costs and limited resources, it is crucial to maximize the value of available funds.
“When you are tight on resources and costs are rising, one of the things you need to do is maximize the value of what you already have. That is why we are reforming the way the Basic Health Care Provision Fund is spent, ensuring transparency and accountability, and learning from what facilities are doing,” he said.
Digitizing fund management
Dr. Ania explained that several interventions are underway to reform BHCPF spending, with a focus on digitizing accounting down to the facility level.
“We have developed a financial management app that all BHCPF-supported facilities will use. That not only allows us to see in real time the state of funds at every level but also enables tracking of where the money is going digitally,” he said.
He noted that cash withdrawals from facilities have now been capped to a very low amount to curb leakages.
“It used to be that N300,000 would be disbursed to a facility, withdrawn in full by a charge officer, and then reported afterwards. This is no longer acceptable in the current dispensation,” he stated.
Under the new system, facilities will procure commodities through traceable digital transfers, and salaries for health workers will be paid directly into their accounts.
“These are the sorts of measures we are implementing. This has already been piloted in four or five states, and it is now set to be rolled out across the country,” Ania added.
Ensuring accountability and transparency
Also speaking, Dr. Oritseweyimi Ogbe, Secretary of the BHCPF Ministerial Oversight Committee, highlighted the critical need for accountability and transparency in fund utilization.
He noted that as the BHCPF becomes increasingly digitalized, stakeholders will have access to real-time information on allocations and expenditures at the facility level.
Ogbe emphasized that funds must be used for their intended purposes, explaining that money allocated for solar projects should be spent on solar, and funds for equipment should go directly toward equipment.
“With digital processes, federal, state, and community stakeholders can track the intended use of funds and verify that they are spent accordingly,” he added.
According to him, the new systems being introduced under the BHCPF would strengthen financial management, improve community trust, and ensure that grants translate into tangible health improvements.
He added that ongoing collaboration with NHIA and development partners would help drive awareness, enforcement, and community involvement.
“We want to make sure that we are doing more with grants, using new processes that allow people to check and verify.
“This is how we build confidence, improve service delivery, and keep the system accountable,” he said.
What You Should Know
Since its inception in 2019, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) has disbursed over N159.2 billion across various gateways to support primary healthcare delivery nationwide.
Nairametrics reported that in November 2024, the Federal Government disbursed N45 billion directly to Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) through the BHCPF, with an additional N32.88 billion approved by March 2025.
Over the last two years, the Federal Government, through the BHCPF, has allocated more than N20 billion to fund 4,362 PHCs across the 19 Northern states and the FCT, Abuja.
