No fewer than 20 million Nigerians have been enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), as revealed by the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri.
Ohiri disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday during an interactive session with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health Services chaired by Hon. Amos Magaji.
Dr. Ohiri who expressed excitement over the increase in the enrollment of beneficiary, from 16.8 million in 2023, explained that the milestone puts Nigeria on track to exceed the 2027 presidential target for universal health insurance coverage.
He also presented progress made under the current management of the agency, including efforts to expand coverage, improve service delivery, and address longstanding challenges in the sector.
The NHIA boss said the agency had taken several steps between 2024 and 2025 to resolve issues of drug shortages, care denial, and delays.
These, he said, include tariff revisions, updated accreditation standards, sanctions for non-compliant Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and providers, and the introduction of a one-hour deadline for issuing care authorisation codes.
He said the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) now supports about 2.67 million beneficiaries nationwide, including 800,000 newly enrolled in 2025 alone.
Dr Ohiri also disclosed that over 7,500 women have benefitted from the agency’s Fistula-Free Initiative and Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) services as of May 2025.
Of this number, he said 2,690 women received obstetric fistula repairs at 17 dedicated centres, while 5,289 accessed emergency obstetric services at over 200 facilities.
He said NHIA had, for the first time, integrated donor-funded programmes into its insurance coverage, with pilot programmes in five states now delivering health insurance to people living with HIV and tuberculosis patients.
Dr. Ohiri said health insurance access has also widened across the country, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory now operating functional State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIA).
On complaints resolutions, he said over 80 per cent of enrollees’ complaints were resolved in 2024, representing a 21 per cent improvement in response time.
In his remarks, Chairman, House Committee on Health Services, Hon. Amos Magaji, emphasised the need for effective health insurance services for the people.
He tasked the NHIA management to provide hotlines across health facilities covered by the agency for people to table complaints on service delivery issues.
To this end, he mandated the NHIA management to furnish the committee with verifiable data of women that have benefitted from the Agency’s fistula-free initiative and emergency obstetric care services.
READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE