By Joy Omagha Idam, Abuja
Nigeria’s health sector has long been confronted with complex challenges ranging from inadequate funding and infrastructure to shortages of health personnel, high maternal and infant mortality, limited health insurance coverage and unequal access to quality healthcare.
Against this background, the appointment of Professor Muhammad Ali Pate as Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare has placed the health sector under a leadership style that places considerable emphasis on reform, accountability, measurable outcomes and strengthening primary healthcare.
Professor Pate’s stewardship is therefore worth assessing not only by government pronouncements, but by the policies being implemented and the results beginning to emerge.
A Reform-Oriented Leadership
One of the defining features of Pate’s tenure has been the attempt to move Nigeria’s health system away from fragmented interventions towards a more coordinated, sector-wide approach.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare identifies improved governance, better population health outcomes, unlocking the health value chain and strengthening health security and resilience among its major priorities.
This approach is significant because Nigeria’s healthcare problems cannot be solved by hospitals alone. They require coordinated investment in primary healthcare, health insurance, medicines, human resources, disease prevention, emergency response and community-level services.
Primary Healthcare: A Major Test
Perhaps the strongest area for assessing the minister is primary healthcare.
Official figures presented by the ministry indicate that the utilisation of Basic Health Care Provision Fund facilities increased substantially, rising from about 10 million visits in early 2024 to 45 million visits by the second quarter of 2025.
More recently, the Federal Government reported that 3,026 primary healthcare facilities had been revitalised nationwide, while more than 78,000 frontline healthcare workers had been trained. The government also reported 45.5 million visits to primary healthcare facilities in a quarter.
If these gains are sustained, they could represent an important shift in Nigerians’ access to healthcare, particularly for people living in rural and underserved communities.
However, the real test will be whether these facilities remain adequately staffed, supplied with medicines and equipment, and capable of providing quality services after the initial investment.
Maternal and Child Health
Maternal and newborn healthcare remains one of the most sensitive measures of the effectiveness of Nigeria’s health system.
Under the reforms being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Health, the government has reported improvements in skilled birth attendance and maternal and newborn outcomes in targeted high-burden areas.
At the 2025 Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review, the ministry reported a 17 percent decline in maternal deaths and a 12 percent decline in newborn deaths across 172 high-burden local government areas. It also reported more than 4,000 free caesarean sections through NHIA-empanelled facilities.
These figures are encouraging, but they should also be viewed within the wider national context. Nigeria still has a substantial maternal and child health burden. Therefore, the ultimate measure of Pate’s success will be whether these improvements can be expanded nationwide and sustained over time.
Health Insurance and Financial Protection
Another important component of the reform agenda is reducing the financial burden of healthcare on ordinary Nigerians.
The Federal Ministry has reported growth in health insurance coverage and greater use of vulnerable-group health insurance mechanisms. Government figures presented in 2025 indicated that overall health insurance coverage had risen from roughly 6–7 percent two years earlier to about 12 percent.
This is progress, but it also highlights the size of the challenge.
For millions of Nigerians who still pay directly for medical treatment, affordability remains a major concern. Consequently, Pate’s administration will need to continue pushing for wider insurance coverage and stronger protection for poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Investment in Health Workers
No health system can function effectively without doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, community health workers and other professionals.
The Federal Government has reported significant investment in training and expanding the health workforce. In 2026, the government also announced a major expansion in nursing and midwifery education, with enrolment reportedly increasing from 28,000 to 110,000.
The government has additionally reported the recruitment and retraining of thousands of frontline health workers.
These measures are important, particularly at a time when Nigeria faces concerns about health-worker retention and migration.
But recruitment alone is not enough. Better remuneration, working conditions, professional development, equipment and a supportive working environment remain essential if Nigeria is to retain its best health professionals.
Accountability and Performance
Professor Pate has also promoted a stronger culture of measurement and accountability.
At the 2025 Joint Annual Review, the Ministry reported that 84 percent of the key performance indicators under the Presidential Health Sector Renewal Investment Compact had been achieved as of the third quarter of 2025.
The use of performance indicators is commendable because public policy should ultimately be judged by measurable results rather than speeches or promises.
However, transparency must go beyond government reports. Independent researchers, journalists, civil society organisations and citizens should continue to scrutinise the figures and assess whether improvements recorded at the national level are being experienced by ordinary Nigerians.
Local Production and Health Security
Another area deserving attention is the effort to strengthen Nigeria’s domestic health value chain.
The Ministry has identified local production of medicines, medical supplies and equipment as one of its strategic priorities.
This is particularly important because excessive dependence on imported medical products exposes the country to foreign exchange pressures, global supply disruptions and rising costs.
A stronger domestic pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing industry could create jobs while improving the country’s preparedness for future health emergencies.
The Areas That Still Require Attention
Despite the reported progress, Professor Pate’s tenure should not be assessed without acknowledging the challenges that remain.
Healthcare remains expensive for many Nigerians. Access to specialist services is still uneven, rural healthcare facilities continue to face infrastructure and manpower challenges, and the country must do more to retain skilled professionals.
The minister must also ensure that improvements recorded in selected programmes become permanent system-wide improvements.
The danger in healthcare reform is that impressive pilot programmes can produce good statistics without sufficiently transforming the everyday experience of citizens. The real victory will come when a pregnant woman in a rural community can access a competent midwife, when a child can receive essential vaccines, when an accident victim can obtain emergency treatment and when a poor Nigerian can visit a hospital without fearing financial ruin.
Overall Assessment
On balance, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate’s tenure deserves a positive but closely monitored assessment.
His leadership has brought a strong emphasis on policy coordination, primary healthcare, health financing, accountability, workforce development and measurable performance. Recent government data suggest that some of these interventions are producing encouraging results.
Yet, Nigeria’s health crisis is too deep to be solved within a few years, and statistics alone cannot tell the entire story.
Pate’s lasting legacy will ultimately depend on whether the reforms survive political transitions, whether funding is sustained, whether healthcare workers are adequately supported and whether improvements reach the poorest Nigerians in each of the 36 state & FCT and the 774 local government areas.
For Weekenders Magazine, the verdict is therefore clear: Professor Muhammad Ali Pate has demonstrated a reform-driven approach and recorded notable institutional progress, but his greatest challenge remains converting these reforms into consistently affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare for every Nigerian.
That is the standard by which history—and ultimately the Nigerian people—will judge his stewardship of the nation’s health sector.
— Princess Joy Omagha Idam
Executive Director, Weekenders Media Commercial Limited
Publisher, Weekenders Magazine