NHIS Enrolment Hits Over 20 Million, Says DG

The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, has disclosed that more than 20 million Nigerians are now enrolled under the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Speaking during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Health Services at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, Ohiri said the new figure, which rose from 16.8 million in 2023, indicates that Nigeria is on course to exceed its 2027 target for universal health coverage.

He highlighted a range of initiatives recently undertaken by the NHIA to broaden coverage, enhance service quality, and tackle persistent sector challenges. These include tariff adjustments, updated accreditation standards, sanctions against defaulting Health Maintenance Organisations and providers, and the introduction of a one-hour limit for issuing care authorisation codes.

According to Ohiri, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund has also supported about 2.67 million beneficiaries nationwide, with 800,000 newly enrolled in 2025 alone.

Giving further updates, he revealed that over 7,500 women have benefited from the agency’s Fistula-Free Initiative and Emergency Obstetric Care services as of May 2025. This includes 2,690 women who underwent obstetric fistula repairs at 17 dedicated centres, while 5,289 accessed emergency obstetric services at over 200 facilities.

For the first time, the agency has also integrated donor-funded programmes into its insurance framework, running pilot schemes in five states to provide health insurance to people living with HIV and tuberculosis patients.

Dr. Ohiri noted that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory now have operational State Social Health Insurance Agencies, significantly widening access across Nigeria.

On resolving complaints, he reported that over 80 percent of enrollees’ complaints were addressed in 2024, marking a 21 percent improvement in response time.

In his remarks, Chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, Amos Magaji, stressed the need for effective health insurance delivery. He urged the NHIA boss to establish hotlines in health facilities to handle complaints and to provide the committee with verifiable records of women who have benefited from the agency’s fistula and emergency obstetric programmes.