The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has announced that it will host a National Health Financing Policy Dialogue from 1 to 4 September 2025 in Abuja to address Nigeria’s ongoing health financing challenges and develop sustainable solutions.
Dr Kamil Shoretire, Director of Health Planning, Research, and Statistics, revealed this on Sunday in Abuja.
He stated that the dialogue will convene policymakers, development partners, health financing experts, civil society, media, health insurance representatives, private sector stakeholders, and academia to translate high-level commitments into actionable strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s health financing framework.
Shoretire explained that the National Health Financing Policy (NHFP) serves as a blueprint for mobilising, pooling, and allocating resources for healthcare delivery in Nigeria, aiming to promote equity, efficiency, and financial protection.
“It is designed to promote equity, efficiency, and financial protection, reduce the dominance of out-of-pocket spending, expand health insurance coverage, and move the country closer to Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” he said.
The four-day event will facilitate the sharing of experiences, identification of bottlenecks, and proposal of reforms to accelerate Nigeria’s health financing transition.
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Nigeria continues to fall short of the 2001 Abuja Declaration, where African leaders committed to allocating at least 15 percent of national budgets to health.
Currently, Nigeria allocates less than 5 percent of its budget to health, with public spending at approximately 0.5 percent of GDP.
This has resulted in households bearing about 76 percent of total health expenditure through out-of-pocket payments, one of the highest rates globally, exposing millions to catastrophic health costs and pushing vulnerable families into poverty.
In 2022, Nigeria enacted the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, mandating health insurance for all Nigerians and legal residents, empowering the NHIA to regulate providers and extend coverage to previously excluded groups.
Health experts noted that the dialogue will be pivotal in exploring full implementation of the NHIA Act and expanding the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
They also highlighted innovative financing options, such as public-private partnerships, sin taxes, and donor alignment, to bridge the financing gap.
Mrs Maimuna Abdullahi, a health economist and monitoring and evaluation specialist with the African Health Budget Network (AHBN), stressed that achieving UHC requires reducing reliance on out-of-pocket spending.
“The dialogue is an opportunity to rethink financing models, strengthen accountability and ensure that health insurance truly works for the poor,” she said.
Civil society groups echoed the need for transparency and accountability, urging reforms to ensure health resources reach frontline facilities where they are most needed.