A recent assessment by Orodata Science has found that 97 per cent of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across 16 Nigerian states failed to meet national staffing standards. The PHC Operational Capability Report evaluated 1,480 facilities in 277 Local Government Areas across all six geopolitical zones, using the CheckMyPHC Digital Scorecard between October 2023 and June 2025. Only 3 per cent of the assessed PHCs met the minimum staffing requirement, with 11 of the 16 states having no compliant facility at all.
About 75 per cent of the assessed PHCs serve rural communities and face multiple systemic challenges. Some 40 per cent have broken ceilings or leaking roofs, 38 per cent operate without electricity, and 39 per cent rely on unsafe water sources. Essential equipment is missing in many facilities, including neonatal resuscitation tools, which are absent in 75 per cent of PHCs despite being critical for emergency newborn care. Accessibility is also a major issue, with 66 per cent lacking provisions for people with disabilities; in Gombe, this figure rises to 80 per cent. Kano and Sokoto face particularly acute shortages in water, power, and newborn care equipment.
The assessment combined physical visits, interviews with health workers and community members, GPS data, photographs and facility records. Orodata recommended urgent repairs to roofs, improved water and electricity access—including solar or hybrid power systems—and better recruitment and deployment of health workers. The organisation urged the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and state PHC agencies to use facility-level data to create targeted intervention plans with clear timelines, responsibilities and monitoring mechanisms.
The same report that reveals nearly all PHCs in 16 states lack adequate staff also shows most have no power, safe water or emergency newborn equipment, raising questions about what functional healthcare means in these areas. For the 75 per cent of rural residents relying on these facilities, the cumulative failure across multiple standards makes timely, safe treatment a remote possibility.
Editorial note: AI-assisted opinion, not established fact. Full disclaimer →
