Health analyst urges wider public insurance as Nigeria marks independence

Financial protection should be the immediate priority for Nigeria’s health sector, according to medical practitioner and public health commentator Olayinka Atilola. Writing as Nigeria prepares to mark its 66th independence anniversary, Atilola said the government should rapidly expand publicly financed health insurance for poor and vulnerable households rather than relying mainly on individuals to enrol and pay for coverage themselves. He credited the Tinubu administration with developing a more coordinated reform programme.

He cited the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, the Health Sector Strategic Blueprint 2024–2027 and the National Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework 2023–2030 as initiatives intended to improve governance, healthcare delivery and financing. Atilola also described the expansion and revitalisation of primary healthcare facilities as a significant achievement. He said primary care was strategically important because roughly 70% of the population relied on it and primary facilities represented more than 80% of medical facilities.

Better-functioning centres, he argued, could bring services closer to communities and reduce geographical barriers. He further pointed to the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, which places greater emphasis on domestic production of medicines, medical equipment and diagnostics. Such production could reduce dependence on imports, according to his assessment.

However, Atilola said the administration’s fiscal reforms, including fuel-subsidy removal and naira devaluation, had contributed to inflation and higher interest rates. He said healthcare costs had risen through more expensive medicines, equipment, energy, staffing, insurance and transport. Although nominal federal health allocations had nearly doubled, he said the currency’s loss of value meant spending had not increased proportionately in real terms.