Niger establishes agency to regulate private healthcare facilities

Niger State in Nigeria has launched the Niger State Private Health Facilities Agency (NISPHFA), a new body dedicated to enhancing quality, safety, and regulatory oversight in the private healthcare sector. The agency's establishment is a significant step towards ensuring patient protection, improving service standards, and fostering accountability among private health providers.

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The new institution would protect patients, improve standards and promote accountability in private healthcare delivery.

Abdullahi Suleiman, the Executive Chairman and CEO of NISPHFA, outlined the agency's vision to become a leading health regulatory institution in Nigeria. Its mandate includes the registration, regulation, monitoring, and evaluation of all private health facilities within the state. NISPHFA will be responsible for licensing facilities, setting standards for staffing, infrastructure, and equipment, conducting inspections, and enforcing compliance with established guidelines.

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NISPHFA will license private healthcare facilities, set standards for staffing, infrastructure, equipment and service delivery, conduct inspections, accredit facilities and enforce compliance.

The agency has already developed registration guidelines for 20 categories of private health facilities and launched a digital registration portal. It has also engaged with over 1,000 facilities across the state's 25 local government areas and formed strategic partnerships with security agencies and other regulators. Suleiman assured private healthcare providers that NISPHFA will operate collaboratively to improve standards rather than as an adversary.

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the agency would operate as a partner in improving standards rather than as an adversary.

The Commissioner for Health, Murtala Bagana, hailed the agency as a major milestone aligned with Governor Umaru Bago's New Niger Agenda and the Ministry of Health's THRIVE reform framework. He emphasized that NISPHFA is crucial for addressing long-standing challenges such as fragmented regulation and inconsistent enforcement, ultimately contributing to Universal Health Coverage and strengthening the state's overall health system.

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the agency as a major milestone in the ongoing transformation of the state’s health sector.