Nigeria Deploys 774 Financial Officers to Boost Accountability in Primary Healthcare Centers

Nigeria deploys 774 officers nationwide to improve accountability, monitor finances, and enhance service delivery at primary healthcare centers.

As part of ongoing efforts to revitalise Nigeria’s health system and advance the presidential priorities on health, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) said it was implementing strategic reforms to the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

The reforms aimed to improve accountability, ensure value for money and strengthen service delivery at the primary healthcare level.

Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr. Muyi Aina, said a key aspect of the health sector reforms was the nationwide deployment of 774 Performance, Financial Management Officers (PFMOs), one to each of the 774 local government areas of the country.

In another related development, NPHCDA on Tuesday flagged-off a workshop on the redesigned Community Based Health Workers programme in Abuja.

The conference, themed, “Optimised Community Health Workforce, Key to Strengthening PHC and Achieving Universal Health Coverage,” sought to secure sub-nationals’ buy-in, support and ownership for effective implementation of the Community Based Health Workers programme.

On the strategic reforms to the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, the executive director NPHCDA said in order to ensure efficient deployment of the PFMOs, the agency engaged the services of Innovious Nigeria to coordinate the recruitment and engagement of 774 officers, each per local government area, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Aina said the PFMOs, who were to operate under the guidance of NPHCDA, had been trained to independently verify financial and programmatic activities at the various Primary Healthcare Centres and to support them in meeting compliance standards and performance targets.

He said their functions were to enhance monitoring, financial oversight and programme tracking at the Primary Healthcare Centres.

“This is not just a policy; it is a transformational effort aimed at securing the future of healthcare in Nigeria, where young people not only participate but lead,” he stated.

Aina explained that more than 60,700 health workers had been retrained under ongoing reforms, while PHC facilities were being revitalised with solar power, modern equipment, and upgraded infrastructure.

He said the flag-off of the implementation was being done simultaneously nationwide, covering all 36 states and the FCT. 

He also said the involvement of traditional institutions reinforced grassroots collaboration in driving healthcare reforms.

In his remarks, a health economist with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Francis Ukwuije, commended Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring value for money in health investments. 

He listed the five pillars for achieving value in healthcare as equity, efficiency, effectiveness, ethics, and dignity.

“The appointment of PFMOs is a commendable step. We must also emphasise the importance of ethics and dignity in care delivery, principles central to WHO’s values,” Ukwuije said.

Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank, Dr. Onoriode Ezire, drew parallels between the new initiative and the earlier Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), which pioneered direct facility financing over a decade ago, describing the new approach as better focused.

“PHCs are often underfunded and poorly managed – not because health workers lack commitment, but because they’re not trained as managers,” Ezire explained.

He stressed the need for continuous technical assistance to empower health workers with skills in accounting, planning, leadership, and data management to deliver quality care.

Speaking on his experiences, Mallam Mohammed Gana from Niger State said the initiative was helping to rebuild trust in the system.

Gana said, “For the first time, we have dedicated eyes and ears on the ground to ensure funds are spent where they matter most. With PFMO support, we now feel more confident managing our facility’s finances and can focus more on care delivery.”

Similarly, Ms. Farida Mohammed from Kogi State reported visible improvements in her health centre.

Mohammed said, “We now have more drugs, the staff are more responsive, and there’s always someone ensuring things are working properly. 

“Before now, many of us struggled with budgeting and reporting. The PFMO training and support are bridging that gap and helping us better use the BHCPF funds.”

Meanwhile, addressing participants at the workshop that took place yesterday in Abuja, Aina said the redesigned programme was intended to streamline and formalise the work of community health workers to ensure quality healthcare services to people living in remote and underserved areas of the country.

Aina said part of the major focus of President Bola Tinubu’s health sector agenda was to crash infant and maternal mortality rates by improving the quality of basic healthcare services. 

He said based on the objective, all stakeholders, including all the relevant agencies under the Federal Ministry Health and Social Welfare, had been working hard to ensure that every Nigerian had access to decent and affordable health care.

According to him, the government has been pushing for PHC revitalisation.

Aina said, “In the last year alone, as at the last count, over a thousand PHCs have been moved from sub-optimal to optimal right now in terms of infrastructure. We have another 2,500 being revitalised in most of the states. 

“One of the areas we have been working also is the retraining and capacity building of our frontline health workers and we trained over 60,000 now.”

The executive director said most of the health workers retrained were working in the health facilities. 

He acknowledged the contributions of First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, towards improving the quality and capacity of the health workers through donation of over 60,000 uniforms and kits for midwives across the six geographic zones in the country. 

Aina said that even with all the progress being made to revitalise PHCs, there was a need to consider the critical role being played by community health workers. 

He stated, “We realised that we are not going to move fast enough to be able to get to everybody’s doorstep without bringing on board community health workers. There is that critical link between the health facilities and the community which the health workers provide. 

“That core of health workers who coordinate the communities and who are trained to provide well-managed healthcare services and to serve as a link between the health facilities and communities are needed.”

Chairman of Health Commissioners Forum, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, said what was being explored under the initiative was a more collaborative approach among the three tiers of government. 

Filani said, “What we are doing in this instance, is to ensure more collaborative approach; we have the NPHCDA working with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

“We are bringing in local governments through ALGON, the umbrella body of the respective local governments to come together to work on the document that is fit for purpose, recognising that there could be contextual issues and factors across the states that will need to be considered.”

Other stakeholders, such the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), World Health Organisation, Global, UNICEF and World Bank, all expressed their support to the initiative, which they described as innovative and impactful.