Esther Salifu
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has called for the urgent need for sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s health financing challenges at the National Dialogue on Health Financing in Abuja.
According to Him bearing 75% of medical expenses out-of-pocket, the call for increased domestic investment in healthcare has never been more pressing.
Nigeria’s healthcare system is at a crossroads. Despite a population exceeding 200 million, government health expenditure remains among the lowest globally, accounting for just 0.5% of GDP.
This underfunding forces individuals to cover the majority of their healthcare costs, leading to financial strain and reduced access to essential services.
Professor Pate emphasized the unsustainable nature of relying on external funding
“We were deluded to think that we can build a healthy nation on the back of somebody else’s taxpayer.”
He outlined four pillars for Nigeria’s health strategy: improving governance, expanding population health outcomes, unlocking the value chain, and enhancing system resilience.
The consequences of inadequate funding are stark. Nigeria has the fourth-highest share of household out-of-pocket health expenditures worldwide , and health-related expenses push over one million Nigerians into poverty each year .
To address these challenges, the government is engaging the World Bank for a $500 million loan to support its Health Sector Renewal Investment
Initiative .
Director General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Dr. Kelechi Ohiri emphasizes the urgent need for Nigeria to shift from reliance on external aid to mobilizing domestic resources for health financing.
In his remarks he stated that “We are at a point of transition to government financing where, going forward, there has to be broader reliance on domestic resources.”
He highlights the challenge of Nigeria facing both infectious and non-communicable diseases simultaneously, necessitating a comprehensive approach to healthcare.
“Our health system cannot afford the luxury of transitioning from infectious to non-communicable diseases slowly; we are dealing with both simultaneously.”
Dr. Ohiri advocates for a people-centric approach in health financing, ensuring that policies and investments prioritize the needs of the population.
“People must be at the centre of the health system and at the centre of what we finance.”
