Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, several gaps have been exposed in Nigeria’s health care system, with as many as 48.04 percent of people living in rural areas unable to access quality health care, according to data from the World Bank.

Recent findings also show that the challenges that limit the effective delivery of primary health care (PHC) services in Nigeria still exist.

Some of the issues are tied to inaccessibility of quality health care services, poor staffing, inadequate equipment, and poor funding, especially in rural areas.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institution in December 2021, revealed that less than one-third of the 30,000 primary health care centres in the country were functioning optimally.

Data from Connected Development (CODE) also shows that 80 percent of PHCs fall below the minimum standard.

Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been working to mitigate some of these challenges through health care development projects.

CODE recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) to strengthen and foster health sector accountability in Nigeria.

A new partnership between YouthHubAfrica (YHA) and Christian Aid is also set to enrol 200 Original Inhabitants (OIs) of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, into the federal capital territory (FCT) Health Insurance Scheme (FCTHIS) for a one-year period.

‘Very, very excited with our [YouthHubAfrica] partnership with [Christian Aid Nigeria] to enroll 200 Abuja citizens into the FCT Health Insurance Scheme for one year’, the Executive Director of YHA, Rotimi Olawale, tweeted.

‘This project has interviewed [and selected] beneficiaries with very little or zero access to healthcare, and who [can not] afford it.

‘Beyond registration and paying their fees, we will also monitor how they access services within the hospitals and rely on our partnership with the FCTHIS scheme to resolve challenges to access to services’.

It is understood that the project is specifically targeted at beneficiaries with very little to no access to health care in the nation’s capital.

It is also expected that the project will address the poor access to health care services by OIs in the FCT and also impact the quality of health care services they receive, in line with goal three of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Photo source: NIAID