From Rashidat Suleiman,Minna
The Niger State Government has recorded significant reforms and interventions in the health sector over the last three years under Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s New Niger Health Agenda.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Murtala Muhammad Bagana, said the administration’s health-sector reforms were focused on strengthening governance, upgrading healthcare infrastructure, improving the welfare and capacity of health workers, expanding access to quality healthcare, ensuring the availability of medicines and consumables, and promoting accountability.
According to him, the reforms are anchored on six major areas of governance, infrastructure, health workforce, access to healthcare, medicines and accountability.
Under governance, the Ministry of Health has aligned its programmes, policies and budgets with the New Niger Health Agenda to ensure that interventions are implemented in line with the administration’s priorities.
The Ministry has also developed a structured roadmap for health-sector reforms through a strategic retreat, while the 2027 Health Sector Annual Operational Plan has been aligned with the New Niger Health Agenda to provide a clearer framework for programme implementation and resource allocation.
A major development in the regulation of healthcare services was the establishment of the Niger State Private Health Facilities Agency (NISPHFA) in June 2026.
Since its commencement, the agency has shut down 15 private health facilities for alleged regulatory violations and facilitated the arrest of an individual allegedly operating as a medical practitioner without the required qualifications in Suleja.
The development, according to the Ministry, is aimed at protecting residents and ensuring that private healthcare providers operate in accordance with prescribed standards.
On healthcare infrastructure, the state government commenced the upgrading of 54 existing Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) to Level 2 status, with a target of upgrading 100 facilities by the end of 2026.
More than 20 Level 2 PHCs have so far been commissioned, while several others are at different stages of completion. The broader programme targets the development of 111 Level 2 healthcare facilities across the state.
The administration has also distributed 2,000 hospital beds, alongside wheelchairs and malaria treatment commodities, to general hospitals and primary healthcare facilities across the state.
The interventions are expected to improve the capacity of healthcare facilities and provide a more conducive environment for patients and health workers.
In the area of manpower, the state government in 2026 integrated 396 UNICEF/GAVI-supported health workers into the state civil service.
The beneficiaries include community health extension workers, nurses and other frontline health personnel serving at community and primary healthcare levels.
The integration is expected to provide greater job security for the affected workers while strengthening the availability of skilled personnel, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
The state has also intensified preventive healthcare through Immunisation Plus Days campaigns, reaching more than 2.5 million children under five with vaccines against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
In cancer prevention and early detection, more than 22,000 women have been screened for cervical cancer, while over 300 women who tested positive have received treatment through the screen-and-treat approach.
Similarly, 444,659 girls between the ages of nine and 14 have received the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to protect them against HPV-related cervical cancer.
Maternal and child healthcare has also remained a key component of the state’s health interventions, with the First Lady of Niger State, Hajiya Fatima Muhammad Bago, recently flagging off the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week aimed at improving maternal and newborn outcomes and reducing preventable deaths.
The state has equally strengthened the supply of essential medicines and hospital consumables through the Niger State Drug and Hospital Consumables Management Agency.
The agency currently meets about 90 per cent of the medicine needs of the state’s 24 general hospitals, hundreds of primary healthcare facilities and the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Specialists Hospital.
The intervention is aimed at ensuring that residents accessing public healthcare facilities can obtain essential medicines and consumables at affordable rates.
Another major component of the reforms is the expansion of the Niger State Contributory Health Scheme, NiCare, which seeks to reduce the financial burden of healthcare and protect residents from excessive out-of-pocket expenditure.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago enrolled in NiCare in May 2025, while the scheme’s enrolment increased from about 56,000 beneficiaries in May 2023 to more than 145,000 as of August 2025.
Coverage among vulnerable groups, including children under five, pregnant women, the elderly and persons living with disabilities, also increased from about 2,830 to more than 10,000 beneficiaries within the same period.
Through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), more than 80,000 vulnerable residents have also been enrolled.
The scheme has supported the treatment of about 298,000 malaria cases, facilitated more than 106,000 antenatal care visits and supported immunisation for approximately 68,000 children.
In August 2026, the First Lady unveiled an initiative aimed at enrolling an additional 65,000 vulnerable residents into the health insurance scheme.
NiCare also announced a free enrolment exercise for nursing mothers and their babies across the state’s 25 local government areas and 274 wards.
The scheme has further expanded engagement with private-sector employers and informal-sector groups, including farmers, as part of efforts to extend health insurance coverage to more residents.
According to the Commissioner, the various interventions are being implemented within the THRIVE reform framework, which promotes stronger governance, improved infrastructure, accountability and expanded access to quality healthcare.
Dr. Bagana stressed the importance of reliable data, effective regulation and accountability in ensuring that health-sector reforms produce sustainable results.
He said the strengthening of institutions such as NISPHFA and NiCare would help improve regulation, enforce standards, monitor performance and expand healthcare coverage across the state.
Reflecting on the progress recorded over the past three years, the Commissioner described the administration’s achievements in the health sector as “unprecedented milestones,” particularly in the areas of primary healthcare and access to essential health services.
As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence Anniversary, the Niger State Ministry of Health acknowledged that more work remains to be done, but maintained that the reforms so far demonstrate a deliberate effort by the Bago administration to reposition healthcare delivery in the state.
The Ministry said it would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to consolidate the gains recorded and ensure that quality and affordable healthcare becomes increasingly accessible to residents across Niger State.