The FMH is the main government body responsible for providing health services for all Nigerian citizens, with a mandate to implement policies that strengthen the national health system in order to deliver affordable services in partnership with multiple stakeholders. The ministry oversees a number of departments, units and agencies, which include the Department of Public Health, which is responsible for formulating public health policy and guidelines, and evaluating their impact on the sector; the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA): the Department of Health Planning and Statistics; the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control; the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control; and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The NHIS, which was established in 1999, seeks to improve the overall health of the country by providing affordable medical services through a variety of repayment plans. It has the ultimate goal of reaching universal coverage. The insurance system is based on a pre-payment scheme whereby members pay regular fixed amounts to health maintenance organisations (HMOs). As of 2022 there are some 60 HMOs regulated by the NHIS, including both public and private organisations.
The Senate passed a bill in late 2020 to make health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians. In a similar spirit, earlier that year the NHIS launched the Health Insurance Under One Roof strategy, designed to fast-track UHC. The initiative plans to decentralise the NHIS to avoid administrative bottlenecks and give more autonomy to each of Nigeria’s states to establish their own health insurance agency, as well as operationalise the e-NHIS platform, garner political support for the programme and secure sustainable domestic financing. Nasir Sambo, the executive secretary of the NHIS, told media in March 2021 that the scheme aims to enrol 20m Nigerians per year over the next 10 years.
The FMH also has responsibility for a number of health-related initiatives, such as the National AIDS, STI and Hepatitis Control Programme; the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme; and the National Malaria Elimination Programme.
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