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Grace Adeleke
The Federal Government has launched initiatives to assess the impact of about $235 billion released through the Basic Health Provision Fund (BHCPF) over the past three years, amid concerns over the continued burden of out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure on Nigerians.
The National Health Insurance Authority disclosed this in a statement on Sunday ahead of the inaugural Nigeria Health Financing Research and Learning Forum, scheduled for Monday, September 28.
The development comes despite a reported increase in health insurance enrollments, with the NHIA estimating the number of Nigerians covered by various health insurance programs at over 23 million.
According to the authority, due to the still high level of out-of-pocket expenses, many households still face considerable financial pressure whenever they require medical treatment.
The NHIA said growing investments in health care financing made it necessary for the government to determine whether the funds were resulting in measurable improvements in health care delivery and financial protection.
“Over the past three years the federal government has also allocated $235 billion through the Basic Health Delivery Fund, increasing the importance of ensuring that growing health investments deliver measurable results,” the authority said.
The agency added that although health insurance coverage has been expanded significantly, “out-of-pocket expenses are still quite high, leaving many families exposed to heavy medical bills.”
The two-day forum is expected to bring together policymakers, researchers, health professionals and health financing experts from Nigeria and other countries to examine how scarce health resources can be used more effectively.
The meeting will focus on using evidence to determine which drugs, treatments and health services should receive public funding, how healthcare providers should be reimbursed and where available resources could have the greatest impact.
The forum was organized in the context of ongoing reforms in the healthcare sector under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, led by Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate.
The NHIA said the reforms aim to expand access to health care, improve financial protection, strengthen patient outcomes and ensure government spending delivers better value.
The forum, themed “Evidence and Learning for Nigeria’s Future of Health Financing: Building a Locally Led Research and Learning Ecosystem”, will also explore how research findings and health data can be translated into practical health financing decisions.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NHIA, Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation, Nigeria Health Watch and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.
A key focus will be health technology assessment, an evidence-based approach used to determine whether drugs, treatments and other health interventions provide sufficient health benefits to justify their costs.
The NHIA revealed that it has already conducted assessments regarding kidney replacement therapy, colorectal cancer screening and treatment of advanced liver cancer.
The authority said identifying gaps in available evidence would help strengthen the link between research and government funding decisions, while improving patient care.
Experts expected at the forum include NHIA Director General and CEO Dr. Kelechi Ohiri; Canada Research Chair in Health Economics at the University of Manitoba, Prof. John Ataguba; Ghanaian health economist, Prof. Justice Nonvignon; and Prof. Chima Ariel Onoka of the University of Nigeria.
Others include Ethiopian health financing expert Dr. Girmaye Dinsa; Dr. Kheya Furtado of India’s Goa Institute of Management; HSDF Director General and Health Economist, Dr Yewande Ogundeji; and NHIA Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Kurfi Abubakar Muhammad.
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