Only 35% of sampled Nigerian health facilities have essential drugs – NBS 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that only 35% of the sampled health facilities in Nigeria have essential drugs.

The NBS disclosed this on its official website and X account on Tuesday, following the release of the 2023 National Health Facility Survey (NHFS) report.

The NHFS report highlighted systemic gaps in healthcare delivery across Nigeria. The NBS revealed that about 65.7% of primary health centres (PHCs) and 49.4% of secondary facilities have insufficient drug supplies.

“We are pleased to announce the release of the 2023 National Health Facility Survey Report, following the 2016 and 2019 assessments,” the NBS stated.

“The report provides an in-depth evaluation of healthcare service availability and readiness nationwide. Findings from the survey show that only 35.0% of sampled facilities have essential drugs.

“The top three states for essential drug availability are Delta (53.6%), Imo (52.9%), and Ogun (51.2%), while just 13.7% of facilities in Kebbi State have essential drugs.”

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According to the report, only 34.3% of PHCs and 50.6% of secondary health facilities had essential medicines in stock and remained valid at the time of the survey.

The survey, conducted by the NBS in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, visited 3,330 health facilities across the country.

The survey report also showed that only 29.9% of PHCs and 68% of secondary health facilities are equipped with functioning basic medical equipment, such as thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and stethoscopes.

“The north-west zone reported the lowest availability of such equipment (20.9%), while the south-west recorded the highest (48.8%),” the NBS added.

“Also, less than 20% of health facilities provide essential family planning commodities such as pills, injectables, and implants. While 79.7% of public health facilities offer antenatal care (ANC) services, only 74% provide HIV testing as part of routine care, and just 25% offer antiretroviral drugs.

“High mortality rates persist, with infant mortality at 63 per 1,000 live births and maternal mortality at 512 per 100,000 live births.”

According to the NBS, the NHFS also assessed the knowledge and competence of healthcare providers, stating that only 39.4% of PHC workers had received training in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI).

It added that while 80.3% demonstrated adequate knowledge of malaria management, proficiency in treating pneumonia and diarrhoea stood at 41% and 51.7%, respectively.