NHIA urges Nigeria-led research to shape health financing reforms

The National Health Insurance Authority has called for a locally led health financing research agenda to guide reforms, expand insurance coverage and improve financial protection for Nigerians. NHIA Director-General Kelechi Ohiri made the call on Monday in Abuja at the inaugural Nigeria Health Financing Research and Learning Forum. The two-day meeting is themed “Evidence and Learning for Nigeria’s Health Financing Future: Building a Locally Led Research and Learning Ecosystem.” Ohiri said Nigeria’s health financing policies had for too long relied on episodic studies commissioned and presented by external actors.

He said such research had provided useful insights but had not created the sustained evidence base needed for long-term reform. He said research sovereignty did not mean ending international partnerships. Rather, he said, Nigeria should set its own questions, commission research and connect learning directly to implementation so that policy decisions reflected local conditions.

The forum is reviewing five NHIA-commissioned studies on embedded learning and considering health financing experiences from Ethiopia, Ghana and India. Ohiri said the meeting was intended to serve policymakers as well as researchers. The authority has identified mandatory health insurance coverage, equity, quality of care and sustainability as priorities.

Ohiri said Nigeria’s system remained fragmented, with 37 government health insurance schemes and more than 95 private health insurance companies, creating concerns about sustainability and financial protection. He announced plans for a national health financing observatory, a national research agenda, 15 research action plans and regional collaboration frameworks. The NHIA has also identified 15 studies linked to its strategic priorities and is working with research institutions, universities and other stakeholders.

World Health Organisation representative Pavel Ursu said health financing was foundational to universal health coverage and that implementation research was needed to answer questions arising from reforms. Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research representative Yetunde Aluko said research should become part of a continuous national learning system involving policymakers, communities, researchers and practitioners.