The World Health Organization (WHO) underscored the necessity for increased revenue collection to facilitate Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, aiming to alleviate out-of-pocket expenses for individuals seeking healthcare.
According to the global health body, 60% of Nigeria’s population covers the country’s entire health expenditure, primarily through direct payments for health services. This situation particularly affects those in the lower income bracket, exacerbating their financial strain.
Dr. Francis Ukwuije, WHO’s Technical Officer for Health Financing and Public-Private Partnerships in Universal Health Coverage, highlighted that many citizens allocate significant portions of their daily earnings to cover unforeseen healthcare costs.
Ukwuije expressed these concerns during a seminar organized by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists, emphasizing the urgency to address challenges within the healthcare sector.
He stressed the importance of establishing reliable and sustainable revenue sources to ensure equitable access to efficient healthcare services, highlighting how contributions from healthier and wealthier individuals through health insurance schemes subsidize healthcare expenses for those in poorer health and with fewer financial resources.
He said, “Goal 3 and Target 3.8 of the SDGs, seeks to ensure that all people have access to the needed key promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services of good quality at an affordable cost without the risk of financial hardship linked to paying for care.
”Health financing is concerned with the mobilization, accumulation, allocation and utilization of resources to help countries make progress towards objectives such as UHC.
”The amount of money spent on health matters but where the money comes from and how financing is structured is also important.”
