PHCs: Yobe tops national rankings, wins $1.2m as govs boost healthcare budgets

Yobe Governor, Buni

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Yobe State has emerged as the overall best performer in the 2025 Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge, earning a $1.2 million prize, as governors across Nigeria collectively increased their health budgets to ₦2.36 trillion to strengthen primary healthcare delivery nationwide.

Yobe State emerged as the winner at the prestigious Award Night held in Abuja from Friday night to the early hours of Saturday, securing a grand prize of $700,000 in recognition of its exceptional commitment to advancing primary healthcare services across the state.

In addition to this top award, Yobe also claimed the Zonal Best Performing State accolade for the North-East, which carried an additional prize of $500,000.

With both awards combined, the state’s total winnings amounted to $1.2 million.

The ceremony was organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and UNICEF.

The initiative also received support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The primary goal of the programme is to promote accountability among states and encourage healthy competition.

By doing so, it seeks to improve health outcomes and elevate the quality of care delivered at the grassroots level throughout Nigeria.

Yobe’s recognition was based on a set of key performance indicators, with the state demonstrating remarkable excellence in both the quality of care provided and patient satisfaction levels.

The Zonal Awards structure provided $500,000 prizes to winners in each geopolitical zone, while first runners-up in each zone received $400,000, creating an incentive framework to reward top performers and encourage continuous improvement.

Other states that won the Zonal Best Performing State awards included Nasarawa for North-Central, Zamfara for North-West, Abia for South-East, Rivers for South-South, and Osun for South-West. These states demonstrated strong performances within their respective regions.

The runners-up in each zone were Gombe (North-East), Kwara (North-Central), Kaduna (North-West), Anambra (South-East), Bayelsa (South-South), and Ogun (South-West), each recognized for their notable efforts in strengthening primary healthcare systems.

The total prize money of $6.1 million awarded across all categories is expected to be reinvested by the winning states to further enhance their primary healthcare infrastructure, services, and human resource capacity.

This initiative aligns closely with the Federal Government’s National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), which prioritizes the PHC system as the foundation of universal health coverage.

In his address, Vice-President Kasheem Shettima congratulated the award winners and praised the state governors for their leadership and commitment to enhancing health outcomes.

Represented at the event by the Minister of Health, Ali Pate, Shettima emphasized that initiatives like the PHC Leadership Challenge foster healthy competition, which ultimately benefits all of Nigeria.

He also highlighted the notable progress in the health sector since the governors signed a long-term compact with President Bola Tinubu two years ago as part of the sector-wide programme.

“Between 2024 and now, we’ve seen 20 states surpassing their targets in 2024,” he said.

Shettima, stressing that the health of individuals is crucial for national development, added that “Health is a fundamental aspiration for every human being. Wherever you see good health, someone has invested in it. State governments, Federal Government, all of us have to invest in health.”

He urged state governors to boost their investments in healthcare, projecting that total allocations to the sector should reach at least ₦3.5 trillion in the next fiscal year, given the resources available to the states.

Acknowledging that many Nigerians still face challenges in affording healthcare services, he noted that the Federal Government is intervening to reduce the costs of drugs, diagnostics, and medical tests, particularly for those with limited financial means.

Shettima emphasised the importance of state governments joining the Federal Government’s efforts to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.

He further highlighted that investing in health yields multiple benefits, including a healthier and more productive population, the accumulation of human capital to drive national prosperity, and the strengthening of social capital to build resilient communities.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, announced that Nigeria’s 36 states have collectively raised their health budgets to ₦2.36 trillion for 2025.

Speaking on his behalf, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule noted that this represents a significant increase compared to previous years, with 30 percent of the total allocations earmarked specifically for Primary Health Care.

He stated, “Indeed, over the last three years, States have increased their budget allocations to health, resulting in significant infrastructural upgrades across PHC facilities and expanded recruitment of human resources for health.

“The combined health budget for the 36 States has grown from ₦831 billion in 2022, to ₦927 billion in 2023, ₦1.4 trillion in 2024, and ₦2.36 trillion in 2025 with 30 per cent of these annual budgets dedicated to PHC.”

AbdulRazaq noted that the investments are already showing results, including lower institutional maternal mortality, and added that “The steady progress from the first to the second round and now to the third demonstrates clearly that when leadership is intentional and accountable, measurable and transformative change is possible.”

He stated that an expanded scorecard to monitor subnational commitments under the Health Sector Renewal Compact will be launched in 2026, allowing state governors to track and uphold their pledges transparently.

In his address, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Muyi Aina, highlighted key achievements from the partnership with state governors.

Abdulrahman has nearly ten years of experience reporting on political parties, elections, religion, civil society organizations, the Nigeria Governors Forum, and more

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