NIGERIA’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the country is on track to provide health insurance coverage for 44 million citizens by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce out-of-pocket spending and achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Pate disclosed this in a statement released on Saturday, noting over 2.4 million Nigerians were newly enrolled in 2024 alone, bringing the total number of insured citizens to about 20 million.
He said the new target of 44 million by 2030 would mark a transformative leap toward ensuring access to affordable and quality healthcare for all Nigerians.
“In 2024, Nigeria broke its enrollment record with more than 2.4m new people insured, bringing total coverage to about 20m Nigerians. With new policy tools in motion, we are on course to reach 44m by 2030. This is the surest path to reducing out-of-pocket expenditure, which still represents about 70% of total health spending.
“Social health insurance schemes now account for 90% of all enrollments nationwide. A major constraint in care quality has been the low capitation fee for enrollees. For years, the capitation stood at ₦750 per person. We have doubled it to ₦1,450 to ensure providers are properly equipped to deliver consistent, high-quality care. Fee-for-service rates have also been increased by 380%, based on actuarial evidence aligning cost-reflective rates with quality requirements,” Pate said.
He described out-of-pocket payments as the dominant source of healthcare expenditure for most Nigerians.
Since 2023, he said nearly 120,000 health workers have been trained and 2,500 doctors, nurses, midwives, and community health extension workers recruited to strengthen frontline services.
He also announced the introduction of the One Hour Referral Authorization Code, designed to eliminate delays in patient referrals by ensuring that authorization from insurers to healthcare providers is issued within one hour.
Pate said in a bid to enhance oversight, lHe has directed the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to begin covert mystery shopping across hospitals to monitor service delivery and ensure that enrollees are not denied treatment.
The results of these reforms, according to the minister, are already visible, adding that hospital utilization surged from fewer than 10 million visits in 2023 to more than 46 million by the second quarter of 2025.
“The evidence is clear. From fewer than 10m hospital visits in all of 2023, more than 46m visits were recorded by the second quarter of 2025. Reforms in the Basic Health Care Provision Fund @TheBHCPF and the NHIA are delivering measurable gains in patient confidence and service utilization.
“As enrollment expands, benefits multiply. Wider adoption of health insurance enhances quality, strengthens accountability, and protects households from financial hardship. These achievements reflect President Tinubu’s vision of a health system that serves all Nigerians, regardless of income or status,” he said.
The ICIR had, on September 30, reported that the country’s out-of-pocket spending accounts for 75 per cent of total health expenditure, leaving millions of Nigerians vulnerable to financial shocks when seeking medical care.
The report also warned that the system was not on track to achieve UHC, with a service coverage index of just 38.4 per cent.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M