Nigeria’s health insurance enrolment elevated to 23.06 million individuals within the second quarter of 2026, up from 16.2 million in late 2023, the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Kelechi Ohiri, has mentioned.
Mr Ohiri disclosed this on Thursday whereas delivering the keynote handle on the eleventh Future of Health Conference organised by Nigeria Health Watch in Abuja.
He mentioned enrolment throughout federal, state and personal health insurance schemes grew by 42.35 per cent over the interval.
However, Mr Ohiri mentioned growing enrolment alone wouldn’t assure entry to healthcare or shield Nigerians from monetary hardship.
“We constantly face the reality of a difference between an insurance coverage record and genuine financial risk protection,” he mentioned.
“An insurance card in a citizen’s pocket is meaningless if it does not grant immediate access to a functional facility, guarantee essential medicines, protect against catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses, and deliver dignity during medical emergencies.”
Improving entry and accountability
Mr Ohiri mentioned the NHIA had launched measures to assist enrollees perceive their advantages, entry help and maintain healthcare suppliers accountable.
These embrace the MyNHIA cell utility and a web based self-enrolment portal. He mentioned the authority additionally distributed enrollee charters and profit package deal particulars by means of interactive QR codes at accredited health services nationwide.
According to him, the codes allow enrollees to verify the consultations, diagnostic providers and medicines coated by their insurance packages.
Mr Ohiri mentioned the NHIA additionally strengthened its complaints administration system to handle grievances involving enrollees, healthcare services and health upkeep organisations (HMOs).
Mr Ohiri mentioned the NHIA obtained and tracked 2,209 complaints by means of social media, phone calls, walk-in desks, name centres and letters.
He mentioned 82 per cent of the complaints had been resolved inside 48 hours, including that the authority secured direct refunds for enrollees who had been improperly charged by healthcare services.
The NHIA additionally issued formal warnings to services and delisted suppliers for persistent non-compliance, he mentioned.
“That is how regulation converts coverage into genuine financial protection,” Mr Ohiri mentioned.
Targeting weak populations
The NHIA boss mentioned the authority was increasing insurance entry for weak Nigerians by means of focused programmes supported by public subsidies, grants and public-private partnerships.
He mentioned below the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Gateway, enrolment elevated from 2.6 million individuals within the second quarter of 2026 to 3.2 million within the third quarter, representing a 20.5 per cent enhance.
He added that each one the enrollees below the gateway had been biometrically verified utilizing their National Identification Numbers (NINs).
Mr Ohiri additionally highlighted a programme established in partnership with the Global Fund to present health insurance protection for key inhabitants teams dwelling with or affected by main infectious illnesses in Gombe, Anambra, Ebonyi and Kwara states.
He mentioned enrolment below the programme elevated from 25,815 beneficiaries within the fourth quarter of 2025 to 58,447 within the third quarter of 2026.
He mentioned ladies accounted for 68 per cent of the enrollees, whereas all beneficiaries had been biometrically verified utilizing their NINs.
Future of Health is Now
The convention, themed “From Innovation to Impact: The Future of Health is Now”, introduced collectively stakeholders to focus on how improvements, investments, analysis and insurance policies can translate into measurable enhancements in healthcare supply.
Mr Ohiri mentioned health improvements should remedy sensible issues, generate proof, stay financially sustainable and develop into built-in into present programs to obtain influence at scale.
He mentioned the NHIA’s reforms had been meant to construct a health financing system that protects Nigerians from monetary hardship whereas bettering entry to healthcare.
“The future of health is not a distant vision,” he mentioned.
“Through strategic purchasing, rigorous evidence, and commitment to equity, the future of health is happening right now.”
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In her remarks, the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, mentioned Nigeria should look past the event of health improvements to the financing, insurance policies, procurement processes and information programs wanted to maintain them and broaden their attain.
Mrs Ihekweazu mentioned the eleventh version of the convention supplied a possibility to replicate on classes from greater than a decade of discussions on common health protection, healthcare financing, know-how and the function of the personal sector in strengthening Nigeria’s health system.
She mentioned improvements would solely ship significant health outcomes if policymakers prioritised scale and sustainability from the outset.
Citing a assessment of digital improvements in maternal and new child health in Nigeria, she mentioned not one of the 10 interventions examined had achieved sustained scale, largely as a result of they lacked clear possession inside the health system and a pathway into routine service supply.
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