Nigeria's Federal Government is weaving digital identity into its healthcare system to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030 and strengthen patient care across the nation. The move will link trusted digital IDs with patient records, health insurance enrolment, disease tracking and service delivery in hospitals and clinics nationwide.
Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, met with Engr.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director-general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to chart the path forward. The discussion followed a presentation on what the newly passed National Identity Management Commission Act, 2025 could achieve for the health sector.
Pate hailed the new law as transformative, saying it creates the legal bedrock for a secure digital identity system that will power President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's health vision. "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 initiative will also beef up disease surveillance and strengthen health planning through better data, Pate added. Citizens' health information will remain protected under the system.
He pointed out that the scheme will drive enrolment in the National Health Insurance programme and help millions of Nigerians gain financial cover. Nigeria's revitalised Primary Healthcare Centres handle roughly 45 million patient visits every quarter, he noted, stressing that a trusted digital identity system would manage this volume more efficiently.
Pate ordered the immediate creation of a joint technical working group drawn from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Health Data and Digital Health Coordination Office, health agencies and NIMC. The team will align implementation efforts, track progress and build dashboards to measure results.
The minister stressed that the digital identity push must leave no one behind. "Persons living with disabilities and other vulnerable populations must not be excluded from accessing healthcare services," he said.
Coker-Odusote said the freshly enacted NIMC Act gives government the legal muscle for secure digital authentication and interoperability across its institutions. She promised that NIMC would stand with the health ministry to supply the digital identity backbone needed for sector reforms.
This partnership reflects the government's commitment to building a healthcare system that is more efficient, transparent and technology-driven, she added. The goal is equitable health services for every Nigerian.
