The Federal Government has set a target to enroll 44 million Nigerians into the National Health Insurance Scheme by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce the country’s high out-of-pocket healthcare spending.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, announced this in Abuja during the opening of the National Health Financing Policy Dialogue.
Salako said the dialogue was an opportunity to translate policy commitments into workable strategies that would deliver universal health coverage through sustainable and domestically driven health financing. He explained that although health funding had grown in recent years, it remained below the recommended benchmark. According to him, allocations increased from ₦434 billion in 2018 to ₦1.2 trillion in 2021, with a proposed ₦2.48 trillion for 2025, representing 5.18 percent of the federal budget. This, he noted, still fell short of the 15 percent Abuja Declaration target.
The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the National Health Insurance Act of 2022, which provides for universal health coverage and introduces support mechanisms such as the Vulnerable Group Fund and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. The BHCPF, funded with one percent of consolidated revenue, is expected to rise to at least two percent.
Salako pointed out that out-of-pocket payments currently account for about 70 percent of total health expenditures, a situation the government seeks to address. He added that lessons from other countries, including Ghana, would be applied while improving legal frameworks, strengthening partnerships, and enhancing governance structures to build an inclusive, efficient, and sustainable health financing system for Nigerians.
