• Moves to harmonise cost of blood across hospitals
• Prioritise Nigerians’ welfare, Pate urges striking doctors

Over N50 billion has been approved to address arrears, allowances and professional needs of healthcare workers in the country across cadres within the last few months, the Federal Government has said.

It also set in motion a national plan to harmonise the cost of blood across hospitals in the country, a move designed to promote fairness, transparency and accessibility for patients in need of transfusion.

As the ongoing industrial action by resident doctors enters its 12th day, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, called on health workers to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians.

Revealing that it is constructively engaging with health professional leaders to resolve long-standing issues responsibly, Abuja called on all health workers to put the Nigerian person at the centre of attention.

Meanwhile, over 90 per cent of deliveries in the country are attended by skilled birth attendants, while antenatal care coverage rose from 39 per cent in 2023 to over 50 per cent in 2024 and 2025, showing that more women were attending antenatal clinics.

Also, the Federal Government is to advance the localisation agenda, reducing dependency on external assistance by mobilising domestic resources, boosting local manufacturing of medicines, vaccines and health technologies, and building resilient supply chains.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, who disclosed this at the 2025 Nigeria Health Sector Annual Joint Review in Abuja with the theme ‘All Hands on One Mission -Bringing Nigeria Health Sector to light’, stated that routine data showed steady improvements in vaccination coverage for key antigens, adding that the government achieved most of its targets for measles and rubella, while the introduction of the HPV vaccine stood as a beacon of progress globally.

He noted that new family planning acceptors increased steadily each quarter, with an overall 10 per cent increase between the first and third quarters of 2025, adding that nearly half of women of reproductive age use modern contraception, meeting previously unmet needs while respecting family, cultural and religious values.

The minister observed that maternal deaths declined by 17 per cent and newborn deaths by 12 per cent across the 172 high-burden local councils targeted under the Miyami model, adding that those areas account for more than half of maternal deaths nationwide.

LED by the National Blood Service Agency (NBSA), the harmonisation initiative came amid growing public complaints about the high and inconsistent fees charged by health facilities nationwide.

Speaking in Abuja at a workshop organised for Hospital Transfusion Committee (HTC) members, the Director-General of NBSA, Prof Saleh Yuguda, said the harmonisation effort became necessary following “public outcry over the high and inconsistent charges placed on blood by hospitals across the country.”

According to him, many patients lamented being subjected to an “undue financial burden,” with reports of individuals paying for blood that was never used, often without any refund.

“Blood is a public good. What we are doing is to ensure that the system works in a fair and transparent manner, so that Nigerians can have access to safe blood when they need it, without being exploited,” Yuguda said, in a statement yesterday.

SPEAKING at the 2025 Joint Annual Review (JAR) Conference organised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, yesterday in Abuja, Pate urged health professionals across the country to place the “Nigerian person at the centre of attention” in all their actions, stressing that every dispute within the sector could be resolved if the interest of patients remained the focus.

The minister acknowledged the long-standing challenges in the sector, particularly those relating to workforce shortages, remuneration and welfare, but assured that the government is taking steps to address them.

He informed that the government had also approved over N50 billion to settle outstanding arrears and meet the needs of various health professionals in the last few months.