The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has announced a major milestone in its mission to expand healthcare access, revealing that 20 million Nigerians are now enrolled in the national health insurance scheme. The development represents a significant leap from the 16.8 million enrollees recorded in 2023 and marks the attainment of 99 percent of the 2027 presidential target—well ahead of schedule.
This announcement was made at a recent stakeholders’ forum in Lagos by NHIA Director-General Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, who was represented by Mrs. Aisha Abubakar Haruna, Acting Director of the agency’s Lagos Regional Office.
As part of its efforts to deepen access to quality healthcare, NHIA has extended its services to cover people living with HIV (PLHIV) and tuberculosis patients. Pilot implementations of this expanded coverage are currently underway in four states.
“In line with our mandate to protect and improve the health of Nigerians, we have prioritized the expansion of insurance coverage, enhancement of care quality, and protection of enrollees’ rights,” Dr. Ohiri said. “The extension of our scheme to include PLHIV and TB patients is a critical step toward reducing health disparities in the country.”
He also revealed that as of May 2025, the Authority had successfully added over 800,000 new beneficiaries to its coverage, bringing the number of actively covered lives to 2.6 million under various focused programs.
In addition to expanding coverage, NHIA has implemented a multi-project strategy aimed at addressing key systemic challenges such as drug shortages and delays in care delivery. These efforts include the revision of healthcare tariffs, the streamlining of accreditation processes, and the enforcement of a one-hour maximum window for care authorization.
“We are tackling long-standing inefficiencies, including medicine stock-outs, denial or delay in issuing authorization codes, and provider payment bottlenecks,” Ohiri noted. “These interventions are designed not just to save lives, but to bring lasting improvements to Nigeria’s healthcare system.”
The Director-General also credited the success of the enrollment drive to collaborative efforts involving state health insurance agencies, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
