Nigeria's Health Fund Management: CODE Presents Findings on Delays, Transparency Gaps
- Civil society group CODE has unveiled findings of an independent probe into Nigeria's Basic Health Care Provision Fund epidemic preparedness component
- The investigation found that Adamawa state left over ₦13.2 million in BHCPF funds unused from 2021 to 2025 due to a prolonged ministerial review
- CODE identified that Kano state received only one quarterly disbursement of about ₦13 million since the BHCPF-NCDC Gateway launched
Abuja, FCT - Connected Development (CODE), on Thursday, July 9, presented the results of an independent probe into how Nigeria's Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) is managed, focusing specifically on the fund's epidemic preparedness component and raising concerns about delayed disbursements, poor financial transparency and weak accountability structures.
The findings were presented at a national convening in Abuja, where officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), members of the legislature, development partners and civil society groups reviewed the evidence and issued formal responses.
Source: UGC
CODE said its investigation centred on the BHCPF-NCDC Gateway, the portion of the national health fund earmarked for epidemic preparedness and emergency response. The civil society organisation gathered evidence through fieldwork in Kano and Adamawa states in April 2026, supplemented by Freedom of Information requests, budget analysis and interviews with public health officials, community leaders and other stakeholders.
Adamawa's invisible funds and unused allocations
In Adamawa state, CODE found that BHCPF allocations do not appear in official state budget records, making it practically impossible for legislators, auditors or citizens to track whether funds arrived or how they were spent. The organisation described the allocations as being "officially... invisible" within the state's financial reporting framework.
The investigation further found that Adamawa received more than ₦13.2 million for epidemic preparedness in 2021 and 2022, but the funds sat untouched until 2025 following a prolonged ministerial review process. As of April 2026, the state had yet to receive any disbursement under the programme's second phase.
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Kano state receives just one disbursement
In Kano, CODE reported that the state had received only one quarterly disbursement of approximately ₦13 million since the BHCPF-NCDC Gateway was established, despite the state allocating ₦1 billion to epidemic preparedness in its 2026 budget.
The organisation also flagged an administrative bottleneck in Kano: whenever the office of the State Epidemiologist changes hands, access to federal allocations stalls because replacement signatories to the programme's account are not approved promptly, as the State Epidemiologist serves as a mandatory signatory.
CODE additionally noted that Ward Development Committees in Adamawa, which are statutorily responsible for overseeing primary healthcare funding, had either gone without inauguration for extended periods or been sidelined from financial decisions. An audit also uncovered discrepancies between listed account signatories and actual office holders across 29 primary healthcare facilities.
On data access, the organisation said no single institution holds comprehensive, publicly accessible records on BHCPF-NCDC Gateway disbursements, and that neither real-time dashboards nor routine financial disclosures currently exist to support independent monitoring.
Source: UGC
The BHCPF serves as Nigeria's primary domestic financing vehicle for basic healthcare, while the NCDC Gateway receives 1.25 per cent of the fund's annual allocation to support disease surveillance, emergency operations centres, laboratories and outbreak response. CODE said the Abuja convening is intended to place its findings before relevant authorities and secure formal responses for the public record.
Rotary Clubs hand over medical equipment to health centres in Rivers
In another report, Rotary Clubs in Rivers have commissioned a mother and child health intervention across four primary healthcare centres in the state, donating medical equipment to improve maternal and neonatal care in underserved communities.
The project, launched on July 1 to mark the start of the 2026/2027 Rotary year, covered Elelenwo, Rumueme, Mbundukwu and Churchill Primary Health Centres across two local government areas.
Source: Legit.ng
