FG rolls out rehabilitation services at PHCs nationwide

Nigeria's Federal Government has initiated a nationwide rollout of integrated rehabilitation services at Primary Health Care (PHC) centers, aiming to make essential therapies accessible to millions of Nigerians. The program brings services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and audiology closer to communities, benefiting persons with disabilities, older individuals, trauma survivors, and those with non-communicable diseases.

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Today’s launch is not the end of a process; it is the beginning of a national transformation.

The initiative, launched at the Doya PHC in Bauchi State, is a key component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's "Renewed Hope Agenda" to strengthen primary healthcare and achieve Universal Health Coverage. Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stated that integrating these services into PHCs represents a "strategic national investment in human capital development." The program aligns with the World Health Organization's Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative, with Nigeria having established a National Rehabilitation Technical Working Group to coordinate its implementation.

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The integration of rehabilitation into Primary Health Care is not simply another programme of government; it is a strategic national investment in human capital development, Universal Health Coverage and sustainable national development.

To guide the process, a National Minimum Benchmark Framework has been approved to standardize rehabilitation services and workforce requirements across PHCs. However, a significant challenge remains: a severe shortage of rehabilitation professionals. Nigeria has approximately 34,000 PHCs but only around 5,000 licensed physiotherapists, with similar deficits in other rehabilitation fields, posing a hurdle to the effective delivery of these newly integrated services.

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Nigeria currently has approximately 34,000 Primary Health Care Centres, yet we have only about 5,000 licensed physiotherapists, alongside shortages in other rehabilitation professions.