FG Revamps Over 4,000 PHCs, Urges States To Sustain Health Care Services

By Ferdinand Olise

The Federal Government has charged States and Local Governments to take greater responsibility for sustaining primary healthcare services, warning that investments in rehabilitating health centres can be undermined when there is no adequate staffing, maintenance and operational funding.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Muyi Aina, who gave the charge in Abuja at the Agency’s quarterly media briefing, following the revitalisation of over four thousand Primary Healthcare Centres across the country, said over three thousand of the facilities had been fully renovated, commissioned and handed over to State and Local Governments.

Dr. Aina said construction and refurbishment continued at ninety-one others, stressing that the federal government’s interventions were designed to strengthen the primary healthcare system rather than assume the responsibilities of sub-national authorities.

According to him, the government is expanding efforts to improve access to essential healthcare services particularly in underserved communities, noting that State and Local Governments remain primarily responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the facilities, including ensuring that health workers are employed on a permanent basis.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, said the Authority is moving to extend health insurance to app-based workers, delivery personnel, self-employed Nigerians and in-mates in correctional facilities as part of efforts to widen access to affordable healthcare beyond conventional employment arrangements.

He said the number of Nigerians covered by health insurance had risen by forty-two per cent to twenty-three point zero, two million from approximately sixteen million in January 2024.

FG Calls For Heightened Efforts To Tackle Anti-Microbial Resistance

1. Chiamaka Livingstone

The Nigerian Government has called for stronger cross-sector collaboration and improved public health interventions to tackle anti-microbial resistance, (AMR), warning that drug-resistant infections pose a growing threat to lives, healthcare delivery and national development.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, made the call ahead of the Fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, scheduled to take place in Abuja from 6 to 8 December 2026, under the theme, “One Health: Advancing Global AMR Commitments to Local Action”.

Professir Pate said anti-microbial resistance was estimated to have contributed to 64,500 deaths in Nigeria in 2019, describing it as a hidden pandemic requiring urgent, coordinated and sustained action.

According to him, AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites develop resistance to medicines designed to treat infections, making illnesses more difficult to manage and increasing the risk of severe disease and death.

He said the inappropriate use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines, alongside gaps in infection prevention, diagnosis and surveillance, can accelerate the development and spread of drug resistance.

The Minister stressed the need to strengthen anti-microbial stewardship in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, improve laboratory capacity and disease surveillance, and promote the responsible prescription and use of antibiotics.

He also urged members of the public to avoid taking antibiotics without appropriate medical advice, explaining that antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections and that their misuse can contribute to drug resistance.

He said tackling AMR requires more than access to medicines, emphasising that prevention, vaccination, early diagnosis, effective infection control and public awareness are essential to reducing the burden of drug-resistant infections.

Also, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the meeting will enable participating countries to assess progress in tackling AMR, identify implementation gaps and strengthen international cooperation.

According to him, the conference will focus on accelerating interventions and improving global governance of anti-microbial resistance, particularly by translating existing commitments into practical measures at national and local levels.

The Minister also noted that without effective interventions, bacterial AMR could be directly responsible for more than 39 million deaths globally between 2025 and 2050.

He said the figures underscored the urgency of coordinated action, stronger health systems, improved surveillance, responsible antimicrobial use and sustained investment in measures to prevent and control drug-resistant infections.

Highlighting the environmental dimension of anti-microbial resistance, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said that resistant micro organisms can spread between humans, animals and the environment through interconnected pathways.

Mr. Lawal said AMR could spread through farms, food systems, water, soil and waste, making collaboration between health and environmental authorities essential to an effective response.

He therefore called for stronger inter-sectoral coordination, responsible use of anti-microbial medicines, improved waste management, and better water and sanitation systems to limit the spread of resistant microorganisms.