The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has reiterated that healthcare financing is a collective responsibility of all levels of government and stakeholders.
Mr Pate said this on Thursday in Abuja at the close of the four-day National Health Financing Dialogue, themed “Reimagining the Future of Health Financing in Nigeria.”
|
|
He emphasised that while health financing is a shared concern, the delivery of primary healthcare remains primarily the responsibility of states and local governments.
“Federal contributions, such as the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), and other pooled funds, exist to support, but the core responsibility lies with states and Local Government Areas,” Mr Pate said.
|
|
|
|---|
He urged sub-national governments to increase health budgets and ensure full releases in line with the compact signed with the federal government, which recognised health as a budgetary priority.
He called on states to establish health financing scorecards to track funding commitments and results, and stressed the need for locally relevant research to guide policy decisions.
Investment, accountability
To improve accountability, he called for the publication of health budgets, disbursements, and performance metrics.
He also underscored the need to treat health as core infrastructure and a matter of national security.
“If treated with that urgency, then the assets we build, facilities, workforce, systems are economic assets,” he noted.
Mr Pate added that states demonstrating transparent, results-driven investments in health would set the national standard, leading to safer deliveries for mothers, healthier children, and protection for vulnerable populations against healthcare-induced poverty.
He also called on development partners to align their support with Nigeria’s national priorities and help attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the health sector through private partnerships.
To Nigerians in the diaspora, he appealed for more strategic support through the NHIA by paying health insurance premiums for relatives rather than sending emergency remittances.
READ ALSO: WHO urges Nigeria to turn health financing reform into action
On his part, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said that allocations to health and education had risen significantly, in line with growing revenues to states and the federal government.
Mr Bagudu, however, acknowledged that in spite of reforms and increased confidence from development partners and the private sector, current funding levels still fell short of what is required to meet the needs of more than 220 million Nigerians.
He stressed the importance of attracting more private capital at globally competitive rates, adding that events like the dialogue could help build confidence and drive investment.
The dialogue, which commenced on 1 September, brought together policymakers, civil society actors, private-sector players and development partners to translate commitments into practical strategies for sustainable health-care funding.
The dialogue sought to generate commitments to reduce out-of-pocket spending, strengthen accountability and boost domestic investment in the health sector.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
