BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Nigeria’s total health insurance enrollment has grown by 35 percent year-on-year, pushing the number of covered citizens to 22.03 million as the rollout of mandatory health coverage gains traction across the federation.
Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), announced the milestone on Tuesday in Abuja during the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE). He attributed the double-digit growth to deeper alliances with State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs), ministries, organized labor, and the enforcement of the NHIA Act’s mandatory insurance clauses.
Transitioning from policy to execution, Ohiri noted that consistent and accountable implementation is now the defining factor in converting political commitments into visible clinical access for citizens.
To safeguard this expanding pool of beneficiaries, the NHIA has upgraded its oversight framework. The agency has resolved 3,878 customer grievances—representing an 87 percent resolution rate—and successfully recovered over ₦14.2 million in refunds for shortchanged enrollees. A new one-hour maximum wait time for emergency care has also been instituted to ensure timely treatment.
Simultaneously, the authority has restructured its medical provider payouts to keep pace with operational costs. Capitation fees disbursed to hospitals rose by 93 percent, while fee-for-service reimbursements spiked by 378 percent, giving clinics the financial liquidity needed to upgrade infrastructure and retain personnel. Furthermore, 7,592 healthcare facilities nationwide have undergone clinical assessments under the SafeCare quality index.
Rounding out the expansion strategy, the NHIA has directed targeted funding to vulnerable demographics. Dedicated initiatives have already extended maternal and newborn medical services to more than 48,500 pregnant women, alongside specialized coverage allocations tailored specifically for pensioners and retirees.
