By Chioma Obinna
The Federal Government is integrating trusted digital identity into Nigeria’s health sector reforms to fast-track Universal Health Coverage (UHC), improve patient care and expand health insurance coverage for millions of Nigerians.
The initiative is expected to improve healthcare delivery by linking digital identity with patient records, health insurance enrolment, disease surveillance and service delivery across the country.
The renewed drive was reinforced during a strategic meeting between the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, following a presentation on opportunities created by the newly enacted National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2025.
Speaking at the meeting, Pate described the new law as a landmark reform that provides the legal foundation for a secure and trusted digital identity ecosystem capable of driving Nigeria’s digital health transformation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, integrating trusted digital identity into healthcare will eliminate gaps in patient identification, improve continuity of care and enable interoperable electronic medical records across health facilities.
He said the system would also strengthen disease surveillance, improve health planning and support evidence-based decision-making, while ensuring citizens’ health data remain secure.
Pate noted that the initiative is expected to significantly boost enrolment and beneficiary verification under the National Health Insurance programme, expanding financial protection for millions of Nigerians and bringing the country closer to achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
He disclosed that Nigeria’s revitalised Primary Healthcare Centres currently record about 45 million patient visits every quarter, stressing that a trusted digital identity system would improve efficiency in managing the growing volume of patients while strengthening patient identification and service delivery.
To accelerate implementation, the minister directed the immediate establishment of a joint technical working group comprising officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Health Data and Digital Health Coordination Office, relevant health agencies, and NIMC.
The team is expected to harmonise implementation, monitor progress and develop performance dashboards to track results and support data-driven decision-making across the health sector.
Pate also stressed that the digital identity initiative must be inclusive, ensuring that persons living with disabilities and other vulnerable populations are not excluded from accessing healthcare services.
Earlier, Coker-Odusote said the newly enacted NIMC Act provides the legal framework for secure digital authentication, interoperability and trusted digital services across government institutions.
She reaffirmed NIMC’s commitment to partnering with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to provide the digital identity infrastructure needed to support ongoing health sector reforms.
The collaboration, she said, reflects the Federal Government’s whole-of-government approach to building a more efficient, transparent and technology-driven healthcare system capable of delivering equitable health services to all Nigerians.
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