Nigeria Vows to Fund Healthcare Domestically, Aims to Insure 44m by 2030

The Federal Government has announced a major policy shift to strengthen its health system by boosting domestic funding and reducing its reliance on foreign aid.

The goal is to ensure all Nigerians have access to quality healthcare without facing financial hardship.

A key part of this strategy is to enroll 44 million Nigerians into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by 2030.

This ambitious target aims to drastically reduce the current high rate of out-of-pocket health expenses, which stands at approximately 70%.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adekunle Salako, announced these commitments at a National Health Financing Policy Dialogue in Abuja.

He stated that it has become imperative for Nigeria to fund its own health agenda, noting that President Bola Tinubu views a robust health system as critical for national growth and has directed policies to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Salako highlighted several government efforts, including increased budgetary allocations to health, emergency funding to counter reduced foreign aid, and the approval of special initiatives like HOPE Health.

Echoing this sentiment, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, observed that Nigeria has underinvested in health for decades, with poor outcomes reflecting this neglect.

He stressed that the nation cannot build a healthy system depending on “other people’s taxpayers” and must increasingly invest its own resources. While acknowledging the federal government’s increased contributions over the last two years, Pate called on state governments to match these efforts.

The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, stated the dialogue was aimed at shaping the future of health financing in Nigeria.

He identified the main challenges as high out-of-pocket spending, limited financial protection for citizens, and the need for better coordination and resource mobilization across all levels of government.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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