LEADERSHIP Primary Healthcare Model of the Year 2026: National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA)

For driving a comprehensive transformation of Nigeria’s primary healthcare system through nationwide revitalisation of PHC facilities, innovative financing, investment in frontline health workers, renewable energy and water infrastructure, digital accountability, and community-based healthcare delivery, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is named Primary Healthcare Model of the Year 2026.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is at the forefront of Nigeria’s efforts to build a stronger, more equitable and community-centred healthcare system. Established in 1992, the federal agency is mandated to provide technical direction and programme support for the development, coordination and strengthening of primary healthcare services across the country. Working with state governments, local authorities, development partners and communities, the agency is pursuing an ambitious transformation of healthcare delivery at the grassroots.

At the heart of its current reform agenda is a simple yet far-reaching objective: to ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of location or income, can access quality primary healthcare through a functional, responsive and trusted system.

This vision is set out in the agency’s Strategic Blueprint, launched in January 2024 under the theme “Back to the Basics.” The blueprint focuses on saving lives, reducing physical and financial hardship, and advancing Nigeria’s progress towards universal health coverage.

A defining pillar of the NPHCDA’s approach is its nationwide effort to transform primary healthcare centres from mere facilities into institutions genuinely capable of delivering essential services when communities need them. Rather than measuring progress solely by the number of buildings constructed or renovated, the agency has adopted functionality standards to assess whether facilities have the infrastructure, personnel, equipment, utilities and services required to provide safe and effective care.

Its revitalisation strategy aims to establish at least one fully functional Level 2 Primary Healthcare Centre in every political ward, supporting a broader four-year ambition to achieve approximately 17,600 functional PHCs nationwide.

Under this model, a Level 2 PHC is expected to provide round-the-clock maternal and child healthcare, including safe deliveries supported by skilled birth attendants. These facilities are equipped with reliable electricity, including solar backup, water and sanitation systems, consulting rooms, wards, labour and delivery facilities, pharmacies and laboratories.

This represents a significant shift in Nigeria’s approach to primary healthcare. The objective is no longer simply to renovate structures, but to build facilities capable of providing essential services continuously, safely and effectively.

The scale of the intervention is already substantial. By June 2025, the NPHCDA reported that 1,163 PHCs had been completed and fully revitalised, with a further 2,774 at various stages of revitalisation. By August 2025, the number of revitalised facilities had risen to 1,295, with an additional 3,469 undergoing revitalisation with support from government, development partners and the private sector.

Recognising that infrastructure alone cannot guarantee functionality, the agency has integrated renewable energy and water supply into its revitalisation programme. It reported that 38 PHCs had received solar power installations, with work ongoing at another 34 facilities, and that solar-powered boreholes had been installed in 61 PHCs.

These interventions are particularly critical for maternal and newborn health, where uninterrupted electricity and access to clean water are essential for safe deliveries, laboratory services, infection prevention, vaccine storage and other lifesaving care. By addressing these practical barriers, the agency is strengthening healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved and rural communities.

Another defining feature of the NPHCDA model is its approach to financing healthcare at the facility level. Through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), the agency supports PHCs with resources for vaccines, essential medicines, consumables, equipment maintenance, transportation and human resources.

The NPHCDA Gateway represents 45 per cent of the BHCPF, while 35 per cent is allocated to Decentralised Facility Financing for PHCs and 10 per cent to human resources interventions. Between 2023 and mid-2025, the agency reported that N50.8 billion had been disbursed to 8,309 PHCs, including N12.4 billion in the first half of 2025 alone. It also reported that 2,341 facilities had been upgraded to Level 2 standards under BHCPF funding.

To enhance transparency and accountability, the agency introduced a live PHC Functionality Dashboard, providing a clearer picture of the operational status of facilities nationwide. Beyond its technological significance, the platform represents a transition from assumptions to evidence-based monitoring, performance measurement and continuous improvement.

Human resources remain equally central to the transformation agenda. No health facility can be genuinely functional without trained, skilled and motivated personnel. As of August 2025, the agency reported that 69,106 frontline health workers had been trained, against a four-year target of 120,000. It has also supported states in recruiting skilled birth attendants and community-based health workers.

The NPHCDA has further strengthened Nigeria’s vaccine cold-chain system, recognising that vaccine availability depends not only on procurement but also on the ability to preserve vaccines safely until they reach patients. The agency reported the procurement and deployment of 1,653 additional Solar Direct Drive refrigerators to PHCs across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In addition, lifesaving maternal and newborn health commodities were distributed to 1,936 primary healthcare facilities across 10 states. These interventions may attract less attention than the construction of new hospitals, but they are indispensable to effective healthcare delivery. A PHC cannot provide continuous, high-quality services if vaccines cannot be safely stored, essential medicines are unavailable, or critical commodities are missing.

The case for recognising the NPHCDA as the L Primary Healthcare Model of the Year is therefore not based on a single intervention. It rests on an integrated and increasingly coherent system that brings together infrastructure, sustainable financing, human resources, essential commodities, renewable energy, water supply, digital accountability and community participation.

By bringing essential services closer to people, strengthening frontline health workers, and creating mechanisms for sustainable financing and accountability, the agency is helping to reposition primary healthcare as the true foundation of Nigeria’s health system, rather than merely its first administrative tier.

Its work is not simply about rebuilding health facilities. It is about rebuilding public confidence in the first point of contact with the healthcare system and ensuring that quality healthcare begins as close as possible to where Nigerians live.

The Primary Healthcare Model of the Year award celebrates initiatives that transform lives at the grassroots level while providing a sustainable blueprint for equitable healthcare delivery. Through comprehensive reforms across infrastructure, financing, human resources, accountability, commodity security and community engagement, the NPHCDA has demonstrated the potential of this model.

In recognition of its sustained commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s primary healthcare system, expanding equitable access to essential services, empowering frontline facilities and health workers, and building a more functional, accountable and community-centred healthcare system, we proudly honour the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) with the Award for Primary Healthcare Model of the Year.