According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2023 National Health Facility Survey (NHFS), no region in Nigeria has 50% access to functional basic medical equipment in health facilities.
 With the South-West leading at 48.8%, the South-South at 43.7%, the North-East at 34.2%, the South-East at 32.3%, the North-Central at 22.8%, and the North-West at 20.9%, the study reveals notable regional differences.
The World Bank provided support for the survey, which was carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
According to the report, a number of significant issues are causing these gaps, including the dearth of healthcare facilities in some areas, damaged or antiquated equipment, a shortage of medical staff, subpar service, and an inefficient referral system.
3,330 facilities were randomly selected from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of a health facility mapping and listing operation to provide an up-to-date list of all health facilities in Nigeria.
Basic medical equipment is available
According to the research, basic medical equipment is operational in 29.9% of public primary health facilities (PHFs) and 68% of secondary health facilities (SHFs).
According to the survey, weighing scales, thermometers, stethoscopes, blood pressure (BP) devices, and examination lights are examples of basic medical equipment that were deemed operational and available at the time of the survey.
Prenatal care and family planning services
According to the results, 17.8% of facilities had implants or intrauterine devices (IUDs), 19.5% had injectables, 20.5% had male condoms, and 18.5% had family planning tablets.
The average proportion of public health facilities offering Antenatal Care (ANC) services was 79.7%; the North-West had the lowest percentage (67.9%) and the South-South had the highest (88.9%).
Furthermore, 97.4% of Primary Health Facilities supply folic acid as part of ANC therapy, and 94.0% offer iron supplements.
Essential drug availability
The percentage of critical medications that were available and had not expired in medical facilities at the time of the survey was another way that the survey evaluated the availability of these medications.
- According to the results, 34.3% of critical medications were available in PHFs and 50.6% in SHFs.
- Services for immunisation in public health institutions
- In terms of immunisation services, the survey found that public health facilities offered a range of vaccines at the time of the survey.
- Of the facilities, 51.9% had measles antigen, 51% had pentavalent, and 52% had oral polio.
- Other vaccines that were accessible were pneumococcal (45.8%), rotavirus (47.3%), and BCG (51%).
- The following vaccines were also available: Tetanus Toxoid/Tetanus Diphtheria (49%), Yellow Fever (50%), Meningitis (48.1%), Inactivated Polio (48.6%), and Human Papillomavirus (37.7%).
The NHFS report’s insights
- A comprehensive assessment of Nigeria’s healthcare facilities’ current condition is provided by the 2023 NHFS, which also offers important insights into their readiness and ability to provide basic medical services.
- The purpose of the survey is to assist healthcare managers at different levels in assessing performance and identifying areas that require improvement in order to enhance service delivery.
- In order to better comprehend secondary institutions’ ability to deliver services, it also aims to evaluate the standard of care as well as their availability and preparedness.
