Nigeria has channelled more than ₦192 billion into primary healthcare facilities over the past five years under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), as authorities seek to strengthen the country’s fragile health system. Speaking after a National Health Financing Policy Dialogue in Abuja, Dr Muyi Aina, head of the National Primary Health Care Development…
Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency has announced the recovery of over 653 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and thousands of tramadol pills during coordinated raids across the country. In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi detailed the seizures, which took place between 1 and 5 September. In Abuja, a dispatch rider was stopped and searched…
President Bola Tinubu has ordered sweeping reforms to make health insurance mandatory across all federal institutions, as part of efforts to strengthen implementation of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, 2022. In a statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the President instructed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to issue a service-wide…
A mass malaria prevention campaign in Nigeria’s Plateau State has reached more than one million children, helping to drive down infection rates, health officials said. The Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) programme distributes Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine with Amodiaquine (SPAQ) to children under five during peak transmission seasons. Officials say the intervention has cut malaria prevalence from 18.8 per…
The government of Bauchi State in Nigeria has announced plans to increase its contributions to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) from ₦300 million to ₦1 billion in 2026, UNICEF has confirmed. The announcement followed a meeting between Governor Bala Mohammed and UNICEF officials, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, the agency’s Chief of Field Office in Bauchi, told…
Nigeria has confirmed plans to almost double the number of revitalised primary healthcare (PHC) centres across the country, while reiterating that the constitutional responsibility for PHC delivery lies with state governments. Speaking at a national health financing policy dialogue in Abuja, Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA),…
Nigeria’s management of the COVID-19 crisis has been ranked among the best in the world, with only China and Japan ahead, according to Professor Osondu Ogbuoji, a health expert at Duke University in the United States. Speaking at a policy dialogue on national health financing, Ogbuoji said Nigeria’s success was driven by strong leadership from…
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has inaugurated Care365 Innovation System to boost healthcare access for residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The minister, during the inauguration on Tuesday in Abuja, pledged the FCT Administration’s (FCTA) commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at improving the lives and living standards of residents. Represented by the FCT Minister of…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a septuagenarian, Uchelue Ikechukwu, in Anambra for possession of illicit substances. This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Sunday in Abuja. Babafemi said that the suspect, a grandpa, was among six suspects arrested with illicit substances…
Sen Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC – Cross River South) has called for urgent legislative action to address Nigeria’s rising suicide rates, citing World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates of approximately 16,000 suicide deaths annually. Ekpenyong made the call in Abuja, on Sunday when he received members of the Suicide Prevention Advocacy Working Group, a coalition of psychiatrists,…
