FG expresses optimism on achieving universal health coverage

The Federal Government has expressed determination to work with state governments and invest heavily in the health sector and provide quality healthcare services with a view to achieving universal health coverage.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole made this known on Thursday 4th February 2019 while delivering the inaugural lecture to the participants of Senior Executive Course No. 41 (2019), National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) Kuru, Jos Plateau State.

The minister said that the greatest challenge of the Nigerian health system was out-of-pocket expenses which the Federal Government was exploring other sources of revenue to address.

Adewole said, “for us to accelerate progress on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) federal and state governments would need to invest more significantly in health.”

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The minister said “because of limited government and pooled health financing, health spending was dominated by out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures. As a result, OOP spending accounts for about 75 per cent of total health expenditure – among the highest in the world – and 25 per cent of households spend more than 10 per cent of their household consumption on health, a sign that more people are prone to poverty traps if they fall ill”.

Speaking on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as an avenue for healthcare service at minimal cost, the minister said the NHIS coverage is predominantly limited to workers in the formal sector.

He said it was not optimally designed to provide adequate financial risk protection to the poorest and sickest households.

The minister further explained that another source of concern in health expenditure is that most health spending is at the federal level even though state and local governments are in charge of PHC services.

He said, “according to the latest National Health Accounts, 67 per cent, 26 per cent, and seven per cent of government health spending took place at the federal, state, and local levels respectively in 2016. As a result, PHCs frequently lack basic amenities, equipment, and drugs which severely undermine service delivery and efforts to improve health outcomes”.

While speaking on the Federal Government’s efforts to resuscitate the Nigeria health care system, Adewole said that the Federal Government had approved one per cent consolidated revenue which amounted to N55 billion in 2018 to support the Nigerian Health system.

Adewole said that the programme tagged Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), now known as Huwe, overcomes some of the challenges of the existing health financing arrangements. It provides mainly for two gateways demand and supply-side financing to meet the expected demand for a Basic Minimum Package of Health Service.

Adewole said through National Health Insurance Scheme,(MHIS) 50 per cent of the fund would be used to scale up access to a minimum package of health services meant to cover 70 per cent of the current burden of diseases through accredited public and private providers. five per cent of the fund would be  used to address public health emergencies.

“Through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) 45 per cent of funds would be transferred electronically to accounts of selected primary health care facilities to improve general supply-side readiness (to maintain facilities, provide essential drugs, deploy human resources for community outreach and health promotion activities and provide training),” Adewole said.

The programme would focus on the rural population where the majority of poor Nigerians live, and ensure funds reach front line primary health care facilities, the scheme aimed to provide greater financial protection to the poorest and sickest households