NHIA Chief Urges Measurable Results from Health Reforms, Innovations

The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Kelechi Ohiri, has called for healthcare reforms and innovations that deliver measurable improvements in Nigerians’ lives, stressing that policies and technology must translate into effective services and better health outcomes.

Ohiri made the call on Thursday at the 2026 Future of Health Conference organised by Nigeria Health Watch in Abuja, where he highlighted government interventions aimed at reducing financial barriers to healthcare and preventing avoidable deaths.

He disclosed that approximately 19,000 women had benefited from the NHIA’s emergency obstetric care programme over the past 18 months, while about 300 hospitals had been accredited to provide treatment under the initiative.

The programme enables women experiencing childbirth complications to receive emergency treatment without making upfront payments, with the authority financing the cost of care.

Ohiri said the intervention was intended to prevent avoidable maternal deaths caused by delays in accessing treatment, particularly when families struggle to raise money for hospital deposits.

He also reported that about 6,000 women had benefited from treatment for obstetric fistula through programmes supported by the authority and its partners.

The NHIA chief said the programmes demonstrated how healthcare financing reforms could improve access to essential services for vulnerable populations.

He maintained that the success of health sector reforms should be assessed through tangible improvements in people’s lives rather than the number of policies announced or public engagements held.

Ohiri further called for stronger domestic ownership of healthcare priorities and sustainable financing mechanisms, noting that changes in the global health landscape had exposed the risks associated with excessive reliance on external funding.

He said the Nigerian Health Sector Reform Investment Initiative was structured around four key areas: governance, service delivery, health financing and health security.

According to him, the framework seeks to improve coordination among governments and healthcare stakeholders, expand access to services, address funding constraints and strengthen preparedness for future public health emergencies.

He noted that Nigeria faced a combination of infectious diseases, maternal mortality and increasing non-communicable diseases, requiring solutions tailored to the country’s circumstances.

The authority was also working with some state governments to integrate services into health insurance schemes, with approximately 70,000 people enrolled through the approach.

Ohiri stressed the importance of supporting local research and ensuring that promising healthcare innovations were properly assessed, financed and expanded beyond pilot projects.

He said the NHIA had partnered with Nigeria Health Watch to support five independent researchers selected through a competitive process to develop solutions to challenges within the health system.

The authority had also established a health technology assessment committee to evaluate medicines, medical technologies and other interventions before decisions were made on their adoption and funding.

He said the process would help policymakers determine which interventions offered meaningful benefits to Nigerians and how limited healthcare resources could be allocated more effectively.

On primary healthcare, Ohiri said the NHIA was introducing a balanced scorecard to assess facilities based on governance, community participation, clinical quality, data management and financial accountability.

He added that frontline health workers required managerial, administrative and financial skills, alongside clinical expertise, to operate healthcare facilities effectively.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, said the Future of Health Conference had provided a platform for discussions on universal health coverage, healthcare financing, technology and private sector participation since its establishment in 2016.

She said artificial intelligence and digital health tools needed to be developed and applied in ways that addressed Nigeria’s specific healthcare challenges.

At a panel session on life-saving innovations, Dr Erasmus Morah, Senior Adviser to the Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on global HIV, strategic partnerships and health security, said scientific advances alone could not improve health outcomes without political commitment and community participation.

Morah cited Nigeria’s HIV response, noting that treatment coverage had increased from approximately 33 per cent in 2017 to between 85 and 86 per cent, partly following improvements in data used to estimate the number of people living with HIV.

He emphasised the need to combine scientific evidence with political action and community engagement to achieve meaningful public health outcomes.

Molecular geneticist Dr Ify Aniebo also highlighted the use of genomic research, artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor malaria parasite drug resistance and support evidence-based policymaking.

She said her team had reduced the cost of sequencing a malaria parasite sample from about 150 dollars to 20 dollars and developed digital tools to make research findings more accessible to policymakers.

Aniebo said the approach could help health authorities identify emerging drug-resistance patterns and develop targeted interventions.

Another presenter, Ikechukwu Anoke of Zuri Health, called for increased investment in African-led innovations, particularly technology-enabled healthcare and community-based screening services that could expand access in underserved areas.

The conference brought together health sector leaders, researchers, innovators and development partners to examine ways of developing, financing and scaling locally relevant solutions to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes across Nigeria.