The Federal Government is reviewing the effectiveness of its health financing programmes as millions of Nigerians continue to face high medical bills despite the release of N235bn through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) over the past three years.
The development comes as health insurance enrolment has climbed above 23 million, but the expansion in coverage has yet to significantly reduce the financial burden of healthcare on many patients and households.
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) disclosed this in a statement on Sunday ahead of the inaugural Nigeria Health Financing Research & Learning Forum, which begins on Monday, September 28.
The NHIA said the Federal Government had released N235bn through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund in the past three years, making it increasingly important to determine whether the growing health investments were translating into measurable improvements for Nigerians.
“Health insurance enrolment has risen to over 23 million, but out-of-pocket expenditure is still quite high, leaving many families exposed to heavy medical bills,” the authority stated.
FG seeks better value from health spending
Against this backdrop, 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 be deployed more effectively.
According to the NHIA, the initiative is part of Federal Government efforts to ensure that health expenditure translates into better services, wider access to effective treatment and improved outcomes for patients.
The forum will examine how evidence can be used to determine which treatments and healthcare services should receive funding, how healthcare providers should be paid and where limited resources can have the greatest impact.
The meeting comes amid the broader health reform programme being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate.
The reforms are focused on expanding access to healthcare, strengthening financial protection, improving patient outcomes and securing better value from health investments.
Health financing decisions under review
The forum, themed “Evidence and Learning for Nigeria’s Health Financing Future: Building a Locally Led Research and Learning Ecosystem,” will examine how research and health data can be translated into practical health financing decisions.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NHIA, Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation, Nigeria Health Watch and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research are collaborating on the initiative.
The NHIA said one area where evidence is increasingly being applied is Health Technology Assessment (HTA), 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 covering kidney replacement therapy, colorectal cancer screening and treatment for advanced liver cancer.
The forum is expected to identify gaps in available evidence and strengthen the connection between research, financing decisions and measurable improvements in patient care.
Experts to examine Nigeria’s health financing system
Experts expected at the meeting include 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.
Others include Ethiopian health financing expert, Dr Girmaye Dinsa; Dr Kheya Furtado of India’s Goa Institute of Management; Managing Principal of HSDF and health economist, Dr Yewande Ogundeji; and NHIA Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Kurfi Abubakar Muhammad.
The NHIA said the overall objective is to strengthen the use of evidence in health financing decisions and ensure that increased government spending produces tangible improvements in healthcare delivery while providing greater financial protection for Nigerians.
