The national authorities has called connected Nigerians residing overseas to play a much progressive relation successful the country’s wellness sector, encouraging them to nonstop remittances and different resources into structured initiatives specified arsenic wellness insurance.
Speaking connected the last time of the National Health Financing Policy Dialogue successful Abuja connected Thursday, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate highlighted the relation that Nigerians overseas could play successful accelerating wellness reforms and cosmopolitan coverage.
Mr Pate explained that diasporans’ contributions could spell beyond charity.
“Even security is thing we learned successful diaspora wellness setups. When diasporans tin wage for wellness security for radical astatine home, alternatively of sending wealth erstwhile an aunt oregon uncle is sick, you tin wage for their insurance. That brings the diasporan person home,” helium said.
The dialogue, which commenced connected 1 September, brought unneurotic policymakers, civilian nine actors, private-sector players and improvement partners to construe commitments into applicable strategies for sustainable health-care funding.
Themed “Reimagining the Future of Health Financing successful Nigeria,” the dialog sought to make commitments to trim out-of-pocket spending, fortify accountability and boost home concern successful the wellness sector.
Health financing reforms and progress
Mr Pate highlighted Nigeria’s strides successful wellness financing implicit the past 2 years nether President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He noted the enlargement of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), which has delivered billions of naira to thousands of superior healthcare centres, and the ongoing extremity to summation wellness security sum from 20 cardinal to 44 cardinal Nigerians by 2030.
He besides pointed to different initiatives, including the Vulnerable Groups Fund, exigency obstetric care, fistula repair programmes, dialysis subsidies, and the planned catastrophic wellness security money for illnesses specified arsenic crab and kidney disease.
Mr Pate noted the value of backstage assemblage participation, emphasising that financially protected employees are healthier employees who lend much efficaciously to the economy.
State and section authorities engagement
While the national authorities provides backing done BHCPF, Mr Pate stressed that superior healthcare remains the work of states and section governments.
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He urged subnational governments to summation fund allocations, merchandise funds connected schedule, and supply counterpart backing to guarantee effectual work delivery.
“37 cardinal superior healthcare visits were recorded successful the archetypal 4th of 2025, compared with less than 10 cardinal successful 2023. This shows that transparency and effectual backing tin grow access,” helium said.
He called connected states to found wellness financing scorecards to way backing commitments and results, and stressed the request for locally applicable probe to usher argumentation decisions.
He besides highlighted lessons from different countries, specified arsenic China, wherever accrued nationalist wellness financing reduced out-of-pocket spending and precocious cosmopolitan coverage.
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