As part of efforts to reform Nigeria’s health sector, the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Kelechi Ohiri, has stressed that healthcare innovations must produce measurable results and save lives, warning that policies and technology alone cannot address the country’s healthcare challenges without effective implementation.
Ohiri spoke on Thursday at the 2026 Future of Health Conference organised by Nigeria Health Watch in Abuja, where he highlighted government interventions that have enabled thousands of women to access emergency childbirth care without upfront payments.
He revealed that about 19,000 women had benefited from the NHIA’s emergency obstetric care programme in the past 18 months, with approximately 300 hospitals accredited to provide services under the scheme.
The initiative enables women facing childbirth complications to receive urgent medical attention without initial payments, as the NHIA covers the cost of treatment.
According to Ohiri, the programme seeks to eliminate preventable deaths resulting from delays in accessing emergency care, especially when families cannot immediately afford hospital deposits. “One of the most inequitable moments in the healthcare journey is when complications arise,” he said, recounting cases where women in labour had to wait for relatives to raise money before receiving critical medical attention.
He added that the authority had collaborated with partners to provide treatment for obstetric fistula, benefiting approximately 6,000 women. Ohiri said the interventions showed how reforms in healthcare financing could eliminate treatment barriers and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to adopt more effective approaches to healthcare delivery and funding, noting that shifts in the global health landscape had highlighted the dangers of excessive dependence on external assistance.
He explained that 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 aims to improve coordination among governments and healthcare stakeholders, expand access to medical services, tackle funding challenges and strengthen preparedness for future public health emergencies.
The NHIA director-general noted that Nigeria was grappling with infectious diseases, maternal deaths and an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, requiring solutions tailored to the country’s unique healthcare needs.
He disclosed that the authority was partnering with some state governments to incorporate healthcare services into insurance schemes, through which approximately 70,000 people had been enrolled.
He said the approach was designed to promote comprehensive healthcare delivery instead of addressing patients’ needs through fragmented programmes focused on specific diseases or age groups.
Ohiri further underscored the need to invest in local research and ensure promising innovations received proper evaluation, funding and support for wider implementation beyond pilot stages.
He revealed that the NHIA had partnered with Nigeria Health Watch to support five independent researchers selected through a competitive process to develop solutions to challenges facing the country’s health system.
He also announced that the authority had established a health technology assessment committee to evaluate medicines, technologies and other healthcare interventions before decisions were taken on their adoption and financing.
According to him, the assessment process would enable the government to prioritise innovations capable of delivering the greatest benefits to Nigerians while creating a clearer pathway for developers seeking to introduce new healthcare solutions.
On primary healthcare, Ohiri said the NHIA was implementing a balanced scorecard to evaluate facilities across key areas, including governance, community participation, clinical quality, data management and financial accountability.
He maintained that frontline healthcare workers required managerial, administrative and financial competencies, in addition to clinical expertise, to ensure effective management of health facilities.
