The federal government has officially launched the integration of rehabilitation services into Primary Health Care (PHC) in Nigeria, describing the initiative as a major step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Speaking during the launch at the Doya Primary Health Care Centre in Bauchi State, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the initiative is also a step towards ensuring that persons with disabilities, older persons and people living with chronic health conditions have access to essential healthcare closer to their communities.
Represented by his Special Adviser, Dr. Baba Abubakar Suleiman, the minister said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), which seeks to strengthen primary healthcare, expand access to quality services and improve health outcomes.
He said integrating rehabilitation into primary healthcare is not merely another government programme but a strategic national investment in human capital development, social inclusion and equitable healthcare.
Pate said rehabilitation services would now become an integral component of primary healthcare, making them more accessible to persons living with disabilities, older persons, trauma survivors, people living with non-communicable diseases and others whose health conditions affect their ability to function fully in society.
“Today marks another significant milestone in our collective effort to build a health system that is inclusive, resilient, equitable and responsive to the needs of every Nigerian,” he said.
He noted that the initiative would bring essential rehabilitation services closer to the people, particularly those in rural and underserved communities where primary healthcare facilities serve as the first point of contact with the health system.
The minister added that the programme complements ongoing health sector reforms aimed at strengthening governance, expanding the health workforce, improving health infrastructure and delivering quality healthcare to all Nigerians.
Also speaking, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria (MRTB), Prof. Rufai Yusuf Ahmad, described the launch as a defining moment in the history of rehabilitation practice in Nigeria.
He said rehabilitation professionals had advocated for decades for the integration of rehabilitation services into primary healthcare, noting that access to such services had remained largely limited to secondary and tertiary hospitals.
According to him, the launch fulfils years of advocacy and collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the Bauchi State Government, development partners and professional bodies.
Ahmad disclosed that Nigeria has approximately 34,000 primary healthcare centres, but the rehabilitation workforce remains grossly inadequate to support nationwide integration.
To address this, he said the board has undertaken institutional reforms, including reviewing regulatory policies, digitising its processes and strengthening accreditation systems to support workforce expansion while maintaining high professional standards.
He added that key policy documents, including the National Rehabilitation Policy, Strategic Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and National Minimum Benchmark Framework for integrating rehabilitation into PHC, have been developed to guide implementation across the country.
The registrar called on state governments, development partners and professional associations to support the nationwide rollout of the initiative through sustained collaboration, workforce development and investment.
He stressed that the success of rehabilitation services at the primary healthcare level would depend on multidisciplinary teamwork involving physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, audiologists, prosthetists and orthotists.
As part of activities marking the launch, the Foundation for Empowering Persons with Disabilities through Medical Rehabilitation donated rehabilitation equipment and materials to the Doya Primary Health Care Centre and committed to funding the salary of a physiotherapist for one year to support service delivery.
With the launch, residents of Doya and surrounding communities can now access physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, audiology, and prosthetics and orthotics services at the primary healthcare level, reducing the need for referrals to distant secondary and tertiary health facilities.
The Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board reaffirmed its commitment to regulating the education, training and practice of rehabilitation professionals while ensuring that Nigerians have access to quality, safe and ethical rehabilitation services regardless of their location or socioeconomic status.
