NPHCDA unveils reforms to strengthen PHCs, reach 2.1m zero-dose children

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has unveiled a series of reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s primary healthcare system, expanding immunisation coverage, and reaching the country’s estimated 2.1 million zero-dose children. Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Dr. Muyi Aina, outlined the measures during the NPHCDA’s quarterly media briefing in Abuja, where he emphasised renewed commitment to reducing preventable maternal and new-born deaths and ensuring that primary health centres (PHCs) operate at full capacity.

Aina said the agency’s broader goal is to ensure that at least 17,600 of Nigeria’s more than 30,000 PHCs become fully functional and capable of delivering essential maternal, new-born and child health services. “These centres must be equipped, staffed, and capable of delivering essential services, especially for women and children,” he said. Achieving this, he noted, requires tackling persistent operational and funding bottlenecks. To address these challenges, the Federal Government has expanded the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), which now allows PHCs to receive quarterly funds directly. Low-volume centres will receive N600,000 per quarter, while high-volume facilities will receive N800,000. Aina added that, beginning January 2026, a full list of beneficiary PHCs will be published to strengthen transparency and reassure Nigerians that funds are reaching the right facilities.

Aina identified zero-dose children—those who have not received a single vaccine by their first birthday—as a major concern and a critical priority area for the agency. To tackle this, the NPHCDA introduced the Identify, Enumerate, Vaccinate (IEV) strategy, which targets underserved and hard-to-reach communities. Between July 2024 and October 2025, he said, more than 500,000 zero-dose children were reached through intensified house-to-house mobilisation and targeted immunisation campaigns.

The agency has also expanded integrated campaigns that deliver multiple interventions at once—such as polio, measles, HPV and malaria prevention—in order to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Aina disclosed that the NPHCDA is rolling out digital health records, real-time PHC dashboards, multilingual e-learning platforms in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, as well as an electronic financial management system designed to strengthen accountability for health spending at facility level. “So far, more than 70,000 frontline health workers have been trained, and 27,000 community-based workers recruited, with states signing MOUs to absorb them permanently,” he said.

During the briefing, Aina addressed broader issues affecting Nigeria’s health outcomes, including maternal mortality, immunisation gaps, ongoing diphtheria outbreaks, challenges with hard-to-reach populations, and the need for transparency in health financing. Responding to recent claims that Nigeria recorded 20,000 maternal and new-born deaths in 2025, Aina said he was unsure of the data source but acknowledged the severity of preventable deaths across the country. “What I can agree with is that we’ve had too many unjustified deaths,” he said. “That is why the President prioritised reducing maternal and new-born mortality under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.”

He explained that direct PHC funding, an expanded health workforce, increased home visits and the rollout of the Management of At-Risk Mothers and Infants (MAMI) intervention all target the leading drivers of maternal and child mortality, including vaccine-preventable diseases. He added that PHC services are being broadened to include mental health care and interventions for non-communicable diseases.

Addressing Nigeria’s diphtheria situation—8,000 cases and 800 deaths recorded so far—Aina pointed to the 2023 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), which showed Penta-3 vaccine coverage at just 53 per cent. “If 53 per cent received the vaccine, 47 per cent did not. They are susceptible, which explains ongoing outbreaks,” he said. While the Federal Government procures vaccines, Aina stressed that state and local governments are responsible for service delivery, urging the media to hold subnational governments accountable for performance.

Hard-to-reach locations, he explained, include riverine, mountainous, remote, poorly connected, and insecurity-prone areas. “These areas often overlap with zero-dose communities and maternal mortality hotspots,” he noted. Under the IEV framework, the agency has identified 7.4 million residents across priority states who require special outreach strategies. On the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, Aina said the framework had improved unified planning, budgeting and coordination among federal, state and partner agencies, reducing duplication and resource waste. He also provided updates on the BHCPF, revealing that 8,309 PHCs currently benefit from the fund. After ongoing verification, 13,512 facilities will be added by year-end, while another 5,212 are undergoing clearance for qualification.

Revitalising PHCs, he said, involves assessing building integrity, staffing, equipment, power supply, water availability and consistent supply of essential medicines. “If you equip a centre without health workers, it will be abandoned. If you put equipment in a building without a door, it will be looted,” he said. The agency has introduced monthly facility monitoring by performance and financial management officers, supported by a digital financial management app and an MOU with security and anti-corruption agencies. Facilities must now account for previous disbursements before receiving new funds.

Providing an update on the HPV vaccination campaign, Aina announced that more than 15 million girls aged 9–14 had been vaccinated, surpassing the initial target of 13 million. The programme continues as new age cohorts become eligible. Citing NDHS findings, he said 172 LGAs across 33 states account for more than half of maternal deaths, making targeted interventions essential. He also noted that the MAMI intervention had expanded to nearly all states.

On the issue of zero-dose children, Aina stressed: “These are not ghosts. They are children. We know where they are, we know their mothers, and we are removing barriers one by one.” He reaffirmed the NPHCDA’s commitment to rebuilding Nigeria’s primary healthcare architecture, improving immunisation uptake, scaling digital tools and strengthening accountability at all levels. Transparency, community trust and media collaboration, he said, remain central to the country’s ongoing health transformation agenda.