The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has unveiled a coordinating framework for governance actors of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).
The Director General, BPSR, Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi, said on Thursday in Abuja that the specific objective of the BHCPF is to extend Primary Health Care (PHC) to all Nigerians by substantially increasing the level of financial resources to all services.
“It provides for improved funding of health care services at the grassroot so that people don’t have to travel far to access medical services.
“Other objectives include to enable the States to also participate in improving health centres through a counterpart fund that would enable them to benefit from the consolidated funds,” Arabi said.
According to him, the stakeholders currently involved in the BHCPF implementation project include Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), State Ministries of Heath, International Donor Partners, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), among others.
Arabi noted that the lack of commitment on the part of state governments in contributing the 25 percent counterpart funding made it difficult for them to access the fund.
He said, “Out of the 15 states that have fulfilled criteria for accessing the N6.5 billion earmarked for disbursement via the NHIS gateway, only two have had access as at January 2020, while 58.3 percent are yet to meet the criteria.
“Also, record has it that of Nigeria’s 36 States and FCT, only 11 have State Social Health Insurance Scheme (SSHIS) established for providing access to healthcare, which is a critical criterion for the implementation of the Fund. By implication, more than 75% of the States are already disenfranchised to benefit from this Fund.”
