FG Disburses ₦32.9bn Through Basic Health Care Fund to Boost Primary Health Centres Nationwide

The Federal Government has approved and released ₦32.9 billion under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) — the third disbursement in 2025 — to strengthen Nigeria’s primary healthcare system and expand access to essential medical services across communities.

Announcing the release in a statement titled “The Red Letter,” the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said the funds had already begun moving directly into the commercial bank accounts of primary health care facilities in every ward across the country.

“This money is not sitting in Abuja. It has already begun its journey into the commercial bank accounts of primary health care facilities in every ward across Nigeria. It is your clinic’s money. It is your community’s chance. It is your country’s promise,”

— Prof. Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare

A Call for Accountability and Citizen Participation

Pate described the release as part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to improve grassroots healthcare delivery and ensure equitable access for all Nigerians.

He urged community members, ward health committees, traditional leaders, and faith-based organisations to actively participate in planning, monitoring, and ensuring transparency in how the funds are spent.

“The health committee in your ward, your traditional leaders, your women’s and youth groups, your faith-based organisations—all of you are meant to sit together, decide together, and spend together on what will make your facility stronger, safer, and more ready to serve,” Pate said.

The minister warned that communities’ silence or apathy could undermine the purpose of the fund, describing transparency and civic oversight as the “heartbeat of Nigeria’s renewed hope in health.”

How the ₦32.9bn Will Be Used

The BHCPF was established under the National Health Act (2014) to guarantee basic funding for healthcare at the grassroots level. It allocates at least one percent of Nigeria’s Consolidated Revenue Fund annually to:

• Deliver essential health services for pregnant women, infants, and vulnerable groups

• Strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure

• Provide emergency medical treatment

• Support community-based health insurance

This latest ₦32.9bn release marks the third round of disbursements in 2025, following earlier allocations aimed at reviving underfunded clinics, expanding maternal and child health services, and addressing critical medical shortages across rural areas.

The “Red Letter” Initiative: Citizens as Watchdogs

Pate explained that the “Red Letter” is a public accountability message from the Federal Government to mobilise Nigerians to track, question, and protect the use of healthcare funds at the local level.

“Each Naira in this ₦32.9bn is a seed. When you nurture it with vigilance and pride, it grows into medicine, safe births, better infrastructure, and lives saved. When you neglect it, it withers into waste,” he said.

“Let this Red Letter reach every community, every ward, and every home. Let it remind us that the health of Nigeria lies in the hands of Nigerians. Together, we plan. Together, we spend. Together, we protect life.”

Analysts say the move signals a stronger commitment to decentralised health financing, ensuring funds bypass bureaucratic bottlenecks and reach the point of care directly.

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Reporting by Naija247news in Lagos, Nigeria.