By Anita Dennis
The Executive Director (ED)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Muyi Aina, says Nigeria’s Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge is deepening accountability at the state level while producing tangible gains in health service delivery across the country.
Dr Aina made the remarks recently at the 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge Award Ceremony, where he explained that the initiative has fostered constructive rivalry among states and hastened reforms within the primary healthcare system.
He said that the programme, now in its third cycle, has prompted decisive actions by state governments, translating into wider access to quality, equitable, and reliable primary healthcare for Nigerians.
Dr Aina stated that the achievements recorded so far underscore the strength of collaboration among federal, state, and local governments, alongside development partners and the private sector, working in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s health sector agenda under the National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, currently being driven by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
Dr Aina disclosed that more than 2,100 primary healthcare centres have been revitalised across the country, with work ongoing in over 1,600 others. He stated that essential health commodities have been delivered to at least one PHC in all 774 local government areas, while medical equipment has been distributed to 500 revitalised facilities in the first phase.
On financing, he said reforms under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, now restructured as BHCPF 2.0, have led to the disbursement of N52.5 billion to over 8,300 PHCs since 2023. He stated that N14.01 billion was released in the first two quarters of 2025 alone, with further disbursements ongoing under a revised funding framework that provides direct quarterly funding to facilities based on utilisation.
Dr Aina also highlighted investments in human resources, describing frontline health workers as the lifeblood of primary healthcare. He said over 72,000 workers have been trained so far, with thousands more currently undergoing training. An e-learning platform has also been developed to support continuous, self-paced learning, with content being translated into major Nigerian languages.
In maternal and newborn health, he said the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative has recorded a 22.5 percent increase in antenatal care attendance in the third quarter of 2025. He also stated that 10,000 of pregnant women have been linked to PHCs, while essential maternal and neonatal commodities have been distributed across several states to support over one million women.
On immunisation, Dr Aina said Nigeria has reached millions of children through targeted strategies, including large-scale campaigns against measles, rubella and polio. He noted that routine immunisation efforts have also reduced the number of zero-dose children, while hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls have received the HPV vaccine.
He noted that digital tools, including a live PHC functionality dashboard, are improving transparency, visibility and accountability across the system.
Despite the gains, Dr Aina said many states still need to do more, particularly in recruiting skilled birth attendants and community-based health workers. He also urged high-risk polio states to take greater ownership of eradication efforts and to plan for sustainable financing of immunisation and primary healthcare.
He warned that funding support for the Leadership Challenge from the Gates Foundation will end in 2026, calling on state governors to take full ownership of the initiative by mobilising resources and strengthening partnerships to sustain it.
Dr Aina encouraged states that did not receive awards to see the outcome as a call to intensify efforts, while urging winning states not to relent. He reaffirmed NPHCDA’s commitment to working with all stakeholders to ensure every Nigerian has access to quality primary healthcare services.
He concluded by congratulating the award recipients and thanking participants for their continued support of primary healthcare reforms across the country.
