Rivers State Makes History, Clinches South-South PHC Leadership Crown For Third Consecutive Year
By Jerry Needam
Rivers State has once again affirmed its position as a national pacesetter in primary healthcare delivery, emerging as the South-South Zonal Champion at the 2025 Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge Awards, marking an unprecedented third consecutive victory in the highly competitive national performance ranking.
The award ceremony, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, was hosted by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), with support from development partners including the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, and the Aliko Dangote Foundation.
At the 2025 awards, Rivers State delivered an exceptional performance, ranking first nationwide in Indicator 13, which assesses the consistency of cascading the Primary Healthcare (PHC) Leadership Challenge to Local Government Area leadership. The state was also the only one in the federation to score above the national average in nine out of thirteen performance indicators, underscoring broad-based systems strengthening, effective governance, and sustained reform across its PHC landscape.
The performance indicators assessed spanned critical areas of healthcare delivery and governance, including functional Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) structures, adequate human resources for health, quality-of-care frameworks, availability of essential medicines and commodities, nutrition and food security interventions, and regular monitoring visits by the Executive Governor to primary healthcare centres, among others.
Reacting to the achievement, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, described the recognition as a validation of Rivers State’s deliberate and people-centered health reforms.
“This award reflects the unwavering commitment of the Rivers State Government to strengthening primary healthcare as the foundation of our health system. Our focus has been on building resilient systems, empowering local leadership, and ensuring that quality healthcare reaches every community. Being recognized for the third consecutive year is both an honour and a call to do even more for our people,” Dr Oreh said.
Rivers State was among six zonal champions honoured at the event, alongside Yobe (North-East), Nasarawa (North-Central), Zamfara (North-West), Abia (South-East), and Osun (South-West). As the South-South winner, Rivers received a $500,000 zonal champion award.
While Yobe State emerged as the overall national best-performing state in 2025—earning a combined $1.2 million prize—Rivers State’s consistent top-tier performance over three years highlights its sustained commitment to improving service delivery, strengthening PHC governance, and expanding access to quality healthcare at the grassroots.
Since its inception, the Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge has promoted healthy competition among states, accelerating reforms and improving health outcomes nationwide, with total annual prize money of $6.1 million across thirteen award categories.
Rivers State’s latest achievement reinforces its status as a benchmark for people-centered, results-driven primary healthcare delivery in the South-South region and across Nigeria.
Dr Adaeze Oreh is the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Rivers State. A medical doctor and public health specialist, she has extensive experience in health systems strengthening, healthcare financing, and service delivery reform. Dr Oreh has played a key role in advancing primary healthcare revitalization, improving governance frameworks, and driving people-centered health policies in Rivers State, with a strong focus on accountability, equity, and sustainable health outcomes.
