Coalition Calls for Transparency, Accountability in Nigeria’s Healthcare Funding
By Samuel Luka,
Bauchi
A civil‑society coalition, Watchdog on Leadership Development Initiative, has urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to demonstrate greater transparency and accountability in the disbursement of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and other donor‑funded health programmes.
In a statement issued by its publicity secretary, Mukhtar Idris, in Bauchi, the coalition said: “The recent media outcry over healthcare donations to Nigeria, such as the calls by BudgIT Foundation and Dr. Yahaya Ibrahim, underscores a pressing concern.
It added: “Foreign donors, held to rigorous oversight standards in their home countries, should insist on similar standards here. Any hint of mismanagement or lack of transparency could spark public rage and even withdrawal of aid.”
Mukhtar Idris further said “transparency in funds management should be a serious priority, with clear, regular reporting and robust accountability mechanisms to prevent corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement.”
The BHCPF, established under the 2014 National Health Act, is financed by a 1 percent levy on Nigeria’s consolidated annual revenue plus development‑partner donations. It is meant to deliver a basic package of health services to all Nigerians, with emphasis on emergency and rural health care.
He alleged that the ministry’s current efforts fall short, and that majority of rural dwellers are unaware of how to benefit from the programme.
The coalition called for a more robust, grassroots approach, alongside genuine accountability to enable the poor truly benefit as the law intends.
He called on Coordinating Minister of Health Professor Mohammed Ali Pate to ensure the four “gateways” of the fund – National Health Insurance Authority, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, National Emergency Medical Treatment Committee, and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control – are truly responsive to the common man.
“Accountability and transparency are the cornerstone of BHCPF. The ministry must go beyond paperwork and conduct physical activities that guarantee funds are accounted for at all levels of government,” he said.
Idris stated that N32.9 billion had been released to 8,000 health facilities so far, and urged the minister to involve private partners, experts and professionals to educate rural communities on the benefits of BHCPF, track allocations to each centre.
The coalition opined that the minister monitor outcomes so that maternal and child mortality and basic health needs in the hinterlands are genuinely addressed.