The Health Anti-Corruption Project Advisory Committee (HAPAC) has endorsed the joint management of Nigeria’s Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) to enhance transparency and accountability.
HAPAC, a coalition of experts, civil society organisations, and media representatives, focuses on combating corruption in the country’s health sector.
The Chairperson of HAPAC, Dr. Idris Muhammad, announced the endorsement in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to reports from reporters, Prof. Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, urged communities to actively participate in managing resources allocated to their health facilities.
The call follows the release of N32.9 billion for the third round of BHCPF disbursements this year. Prof. Pate emphasised that communities should take ownership of their facilities, monitor progress, and ensure transparency to safeguard effective use of funds.
Dr. Muhammad said the minister’s call for vigilance is crucial to addressing corruption, enhancing primary healthcare delivery, and providing health insurance for the poor and vulnerable.
HAPAC’s investigations revealed corrupt practices within the BHCPF, including collusion between community monitors and facility officers to divert funds, and cases of facility managers using single receipts to access money from multiple channels. Healthcare staff were also found falsifying community stakeholders’ signatures to obtain funds without their knowledge.
Since 2018, the Federal Government has invested over N110 billion (about 68.3 million U.S. dollars) in primary healthcare, excluding the recent N32.9 billion (about 22 million U.S. dollars) disbursed to 13,000 primary healthcare centres nationwide. This prompted the health minister’s widely publicised “red letter” advocating strict accountability.
HAPAC’s Convener, Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, noted that corruption also involves State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies (SPHCDAs), which sometimes direct facility managers on how and when to spend funds and even provide bank details for payments. SPHCDAs have also procured medicines for facilities, violating BHCPF guidelines and Nigeria’s procurement regulations.
To address these issues, HAPAC recommended establishing direct links between health facilities and anti-corruption officials at the health ministry and national agencies, training health workers and managers on procurement guidelines and ethics, and enforcing penalties for violations.
The committee also suggested revamping central medical stores for centralized medicine purchases to track expenditures more effectively, promote transparency in drug costs, and reduce the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines.
HAPAC is a coalition of academics, civil society groups, media, anti-corruption agencies, and health practitioners committed to fighting corruption in Nigeria’s health sector.
