Less than 5% of Nigerians have health insurance

The president of  Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), Dr. Adenike Olaniba, advised the Federal Government against poor health financing as it may affect the planned Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC).


The advice was given in her lecture at the 30th anniversary of Healthcare Magazine/ 2016 HCPAN’s Mid-Year Capacity Building Meeting in Lagos. It was titled Universal Health Insurance Coverage: The Role of Healthcare Providers.

According to her,  less than five percent of the country’s population  was insured under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), adding that there was a need for the review of NHIS Act 35 of 1999 to make it mandatory for citizens to sign up in the scheme.

Dr. Olaniba, Consultant Public Health Physician, said the existing structure of health financing would not enable the country achieve the desired health outcomes.

She said Nigeria spends $67 per head on healthcare

(Wow! This is wayyy smaller than other countries spend! No wonder people prefer to go abroad for treatment).


She continued: “WHO report shows that South Africa spends seven times more than Nigeria while Angola’s health budget is three times more than ours. In the United States, healthcare expenditure is $7,000 per head and $6,000 per head in Switzerland. Currently, 59 percent of Nigerians pay for healthcare out-of-pocket”.

Dr. Olaniba said health is wealth, stressing that the government should have long-term commitment to increasing health spending and exploring innovative health financing mechanisms.

“The health indices in Nigeria are poor and need to be improved upon. Nigeria has the eighth-lowest life expectancy at birth and one of the highest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the world. Though we have the largest economy in Africa, yet only 3.5 per cent of this year budget is given to health. That is a serious issue with funding.

“To ensure equity in the distribution of enrollees, NHIS should put a peg on the maximum number of enrollees per facility. For example, 5000, so that all accredited providers can participate in the scheme.”