By Reportcircle-Abuja Health & Development Desk
Nigeria’s health sector is showing early signs of turnaround. The Federal Government on Tuesday reported a 17 per cent decline in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent fall in newborn mortality across 172 high-burden local governments, a shift officials say proves that long-delayed health reforms are beginning to work.
At a ministerial press briefing ahead of the 2025 Joint Annual Review, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said Nigeria is witnessing its strongest national-state alignment in years under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative launched in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu.
According to Pate, 37 out of 41 presidential health reform performance indicators have already been achieved, a milestone he called “remarkable progress driven by shared accountability and state-level ownership.”
“For the first time, we are seeing alignment between the federal government’s direction and the states in terms of priorities and execution,” he said. “All 36 states now have operational plans aligned with the national health blueprint.”
The government has also deployed 774 National Health Fellows across every local government area and revitalised over 435 health facilities in high-priority regions, backed by the recruitment of 15,000 community health workers to expand front-line service delivery.
Data presented by the minister show that utilization of primary health-care centres funded under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) has surged from 10 million visits in early 2024 to 45 million by mid-2025, a 350 per cent increase that reflects what officials describe as “growing public trust in government facilities.”
Family-planning uptake is also climbing, with new acceptors up by 10 per cent since January and half of all women of reproductive age now using modern contraceptives, according to ministry data.
In what could mark a turning point in citizen perception, 77 per cent of Nigerians now rate the health system positively, compared with 54 per cent a year ago. Confidence in the government’s ability to handle health emergencies has also grown from 50 to 66 per cent of respondents.
Still, Pate struck a cautious note: “We’re not out of the woods yet. The issue of affordability remains a concern. Expanding health insurance coverage and prudent resource use are essential to sustain these gains.”
The Minister said the 2025 Joint Annual Review, themed “All Hands, One Mission: Bringing the Nigerian Health Sector to Light,” will bring together federal, state and local actors to examine financing, governance, maternal-mortality reduction and the local manufacturing of life-sciences products.
“The signs of progress are real and data-backed,” Pate insisted. “If we sustain this momentum, Nigeria’s health outcomes will not only improve but could become a model for the continent.”
While the numbers suggest a shift in trajectory, analysts caution that funding bottlenecks, weak logistics, and uneven sub-national capacity remain persistent threats.
For Reportcircle’s policy trackers, the next 12 months will test whether the data-driven optimism seen in Abuja can translate into sustained gains in Nigeria’s hospitals and communities.
