FG reviews N235bn health spending as medical costs soar
The Federal Government is reviewing how billions of naira invested in healthcare are being spent as millions of Nigerians continue to shoulder high medical costs from their pockets.
The National Health Insurance Authority said the government had released N235bn through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund over the past three years, while health insurance enrolment had risen above 23 million.
Abimbola Joseph
The Federal Government is reviewing how billions of naira invested in healthcare are being spent as millions of Nigerians continue to shoulder high medical costs from their pockets.
The National Health Insurance Authority said the government had released N235bn through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund over the past three years, while health insurance enrolment had risen above 23 million.
But the expansion in coverage has not removed the financial strain on patients, with out-of-pocket spending remaining high and leaving many households exposed to hefty medical bills.
The NHIA disclosed this on Sunday ahead of the inaugural Nigeria Health Financing Research and Learning Forum, which begins in Abuja on Monday.
The two-day forum will bring together policymakers, researchers, healthcare professionals and health financing experts from Nigeria and other countries to examine how limited resources can deliver better health outcomes.
The authority said the meeting would focus on using evidence to determine which treatments and services should receive public funding, how healthcare providers should be paid and where scarce resources could have the greatest impact.
The forum forms part of wider health reforms being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under the Coordinating Minister, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate.
The reforms are aimed at expanding access to healthcare, strengthening financial protection, improving patient outcomes and securing better value from public health spending.
The NHIA said the forum would also explore how research and health data could be translated into practical decisions on healthcare financing.
One of the tools being used is Health Technology Assessment, which helps determine whether medicines, treatments and other health interventions provide sufficient benefits to justify their costs.
The authority said it had already conducted assessments on kidney replacement therapy, colorectal cancer screening and treatment for advanced liver cancer.
The NHIA, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation, Nigeria Health Watch and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research are collaborating on the forum.
The event, themed “Evidence and Learning for Nigeria’s Health Financing Future: Building a Locally Led Research and Learning Ecosystem”, is expected to identify gaps in existing evidence and strengthen the link between research, funding decisions and patient care.
Among those expected to participate are NHIA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kelechi Ohiri; Canada Research Chair in Health Economics at the University of Manitoba, Prof John Ataguba; Ghanaian health economist, Prof Justice Nonvignon; and Prof Chima Ariel Onoka of the University of Nigeria.
Other participants include Ethiopian health financing expert, Dr Girmaye Dinsa; Dr Kheya Furtado of India’s Goa Institute of Management; health economist and Managing Principal of HSDF, Dr Yewande Ogundeji; and NHIA Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Kurfi Abubakar Muhammad.
The NHIA said the ultimate goal was to make health financing decisions more evidence-based and ensure that increased government spending translated into improved services and greater financial protection for Nigerians.
