Trends and Challenges of Health Care Financing in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Health care financing is concerned with how financial resources are generated, allocated and used in health care system. Worldwide, every year 100 million people are pushed into poverty because they have had to pay directly for their health care. Objective: To assess the trends and challenges of health care financing in Nigeria. Methodology: A literature review was conducted. Results: In Nigeria, health care is financed through Tax revenues, out of pocket payments (user payment), health insurance (social, community-based insurance, private health care financing), donor funding, exemptions/deferrals/subsidies. Majority (69%) of the health care financing in Nigeria is from out-of-pocket payments made by the patient to the health care provider. The federal government provides 12% of health care finances. The rest of financing of health care in Nigeria come from the state governments (8%), Local Government areas (4%), and development/donor partners (3%). Nigeria allocates between 3.5% and 6.24% of her total budget to health care financing. The challenges of health care financing in Nigeria include: inefficiency of the health system across the country, limited institutional capacity, corruption, unstable and dwindling economic, and lack of political will. Conclusion: Nigeria’s expenditure on health is very low, and domestic resource mobilization for health care is weak. Nigeria’s health system has to be strengthened. Nigeria also has to inject more fund into health care for its citizens. She should embrace equitable modes of health care financing such as compulsory social insurance system for all citizens of Nigeria. The role of different levels of government in financing health care should be clearly defined. Also, prudent management of available scarce funds will go a long way in changing the Nigerian health care financing situation. The private sector (telecommunications and banks) and local philanthropists has to be involved in financing health care. There should be effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of performances and tracking of the use of resources, health policies and reforms.