Healthcare: BHCPF enrolment hits 3m in Q2, Q3 2026 with NIN verification

By Stanley Onyekwere

Enrolment under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) has surged by three million beneficiaries across the second and third quarters of 2026, marking a decisive recovery, following an initial drop caused by mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) verification.

The Chairman of the Forum of Chief Executives of State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIA) and Director General of the Katsina State Health Insurance Agency, Mohammad Safana, disclosed the figures during the forum’s third-quarter review meeting in Abuja.

Safana explained that the program had experienced a sharp decline in overall enrolment during the first quarter of the year.

He noted that the reduction followed a policy directive from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) making the NIN a mandatory requirement for participation. Under the policy, beneficiaries without valid identification were removed from the database, while others were required to update their records to retain access.

However, nationwide re-registration and verification drives across the states triggered a rapid turnaround in subsequent months.

“Following the initial dip, there was significant progress in subsequent quarters. “From the second quarter, approximately 1.7 million enrollees were added, and an additional 1.3 million enrollees were added in the third quarter,” Safana stated.

According to him, the total addition of three million enrollees reflects the success of coordinated state-level efforts to ensure vulnerable Nigerians meet the mandatory identification criteria without losing access to healthcare coverage.

The review meeting, which later proceeded into a closed-door session, brought together representatives from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

As the umbrella body for all state health insurance agencies in Nigeria, the SSHIA Forum leverages peer-review mechanisms and inter-state coordination to align implementation strategies and accelerate the country’s drive toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).