Upbeat23 million Nigerians now have health cover — up 42% since 2023, and mothers are at the front of the queue
Nigeria's National Health Insurance Authority says 23.06 million people now have health coverage, up 42% from 16.2 million in late 2023 — growth shared at the Future of Health Conference 2026 in Abuja. Under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, enrolment reached 3.18 million in the third quarter of 2026, every one of them biometrically verified. The maternal and newborn programmes have reached 96,068 people: emergency care for high-risk pregnancies treated 80,906 women at 263 facilities, the Fistula Free Programme reached 6,059 women, and neonatal emergency care reached more than 9,103 newborns. The authority is also shifting how it judges hospitals — from static accreditation to a model that scores clinical quality, data integrity and governance.
SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: institutional program