medigraphic.com
ISSN 1527-3172 (Electronic)

2017, Number 1

<< Back Next >>

MEDICC Review 2017; 19 (1)

Enhancing political will for universal health coverage in Nigeria

Aregbeshola BS

Language: English
References: 42
Page: 42-46
PDF size: 159.72 Kb.


ABSTRACT

Universal health coverage aims to increase equity in access to quality health care services and to reduce financial risk due to health care costs. It is a key component of international health agenda and has been a subject of worldwide debate. Despite differing views on its scope and pathways to reach it, there is a global consensus that all countries should work toward universal health coverage. The goal remains distant for many African countries, including Nigeria. This is mostly due to lack of political will and commitment among political actors and policymakers. Evidence from countries such as Ghana, Chile, Mexico, China, Thailand, Turkey, Rwanda, Vietnam and Indonesia, which have introduced at least some form of universal health coverage scheme, shows that political will and commitment are key to the adoption of new laws and regulations for reforming coverage. For Nigeria to improve people’s health, reduce poverty and achieve prosperity, universal health coverage must be vigorously pursued at all levels. Political will and commitment to these goals must be expressed in legal mandates and be translated into policies that ensure increased public health care financing for the benefit of all Nigerians. Nigeria, as part of a global system, cannot afford to lag behind in striving for this overarching health goal.


REFERENCES

  1. Abiiro GA, De Allegri M. Universal health coverage from multiple perspectives: a synthesis of conceptual literature and global debates. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2015 Jul 4;15:17.

  2. World Health Organization [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; c2017. Programmes. Document Center. Sustainable health fi nancing, universal coverage and social health insurance; 2005 Apr 7 [cited 2016 Nov 10]. Available from: http://www.who.int/health_fi nancing/documents/ cov-wharesolution5833/en/

  3. World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2010: Health Systems Financing: The Path to Universal Coverage. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010. 128 p.

  4. Kutzin J. Towards Universal Health Care Coverage: A Goal-oriented Framework for Policy Analysis. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank Group; 2000 Jul. 57 p.

  5. McIntyre D. Learning from experience: health care fi nancing in low- and middle-income countries. Geneva: Global Forum for Health Research; 2007 Jun. 92 p.

  6. National Economic and Social Rights Initiative [Internet]. New York: NESRI; c2017. Human Rights. What is the human right to health and health care?; [cited 2016 Nov 4]; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.nesri.org/programs/what -is-the-human-right-to-health-and-health-care

  7. Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity in health. Int J Health Serv.1992;22(3):429– 45.

  8. Braveman P, Gruskin S. Defi ning equity in health. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003 Apr;57(4):254–8.

  9. World Health Organization, The World Bank Group. Monitoring progress towards universal health coverage at country and global levels. Framework measures and targets. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014 May. 12 p.

  10. Wagstaff A, Cotlear D, Eozenou PH, Buisman LR. Measuring progress towards universal health coverage: with an application to 24 developing countries. Oxf Rev Econ Policy. 2016;32(1):147–89.

  11. World Bank [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: World Bank; c2017. Countries. Nigeria: country at a glance; [cited 2016 Jun 14]; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.worldbank.org/en/ country/nigeria

  12. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2015. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2015. 161 p.

  13. United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report 2015: Work for Human Development. Statistical Annex [Internet]. New York: United Nations; c2015 [cited 2016 Jun14]. 73 p. Available from: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/ fi les/hdr_2015_statistical_annex.pdf

  14. United Nations. United Nations General Assembly Sixty Seventh Session: Global Health and Foreign Policy [Internet]. 2012 Dec 6 [cited 2016 Nov 4]. 6 p. Available from: http://www .un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/67/ L.36&referer=http://www.un.org/en/ga/info/draft/ index.shtml&Lang=E

  15. African Development Bank Group. Tunis Declaration on Value for Money, Sustainability and Accountability in the Health Sector [Internet]. Tunis: African Development Bank Group; 2012 Jul 5 [cited 2016 Nov 4]. 3 p. Available from: https://www.afdb.org/fi leadmin/uploads/afdb/Docu ments/Generic-Documents/Tunis%20declara tion%20english%20july%206%20%282%29.pdf

  16. Stuckler D, Feigl AB, Basu S, McKee M. The political economy of universal health coverage. Background paper for the global symposium on health systems research; 2010 Nov 16–19; Montreux, Switzerland. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010 Nov. 40 p.

  17. Rodin J. Accelerating action towards universal health coverage by applying a gender lens. Bull World Health Organ. 2013 Sep 1;91(9):710–1.

  18. Gupta V, Kerry VB, Goosby E, Yates R. Politics and Universal Health Coverage—The Post-2015 Global Health Agenda. N Engl J Med. 2015 Sep 24;373(13):1189–92.

  19. Obare V, Brolan CE, Hill PS. Indicators for Universal Health Coverage: can Kenya comply with the proposed post-2015 monitoring recommendations? Int J Equity Health. 2014 Dec 20;13:123.

  20. National Bureau of Statistics (NG). Nigeria Poverty Profi le Report 2010 [Internet]. Abuja: National Bureau of Statistics (NG); 2012 Jan [cited 2016 Jun 14]. 30 p. Available from: http://www .nigerianstat.gov.ng/pdfuploads/Nigeria%20Po verty%20Profi le%202010.pdf

  21. The World Bank. The atlas of social protection: indicators of resilience and equity [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank Group; [updated 2016 Jul 26; cited 2016 Jun 14]. Available from: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/atlas_so cial_protection

  22. Onoka CA, Onwujekwe OE, Uzochukwu BS, Ezumah NN. Promoting universal fi nancial protection: constraints and enabling factors in scaling-up coverage with social health insurance in Nigeria. Health Res Policy Syst. 2013 Jun 13;11:20.

  23. Uzochukwu B, Ughasoro MD, Etiaba E, Okwuosa C, Envuladu E, Onwujekwe OE. Health care fi nancing in Nigeria: Implications for achieving universal health coverage. Niger J Clin Pract. 2015 Jul–Aug;18:437–44.

  24. Sekhri N, Savedoff W. Private health insurance: implications for developing countries. Bull World Health Organ. 2005 Feb;83(2):127–34.

  25. Lu C, Chin B, Lewandowski JL, Basinga P, Hirschhorn LR, Hill K, et al. Towards universal health coverage: an evaluation of Rwanda Mutuelles in its fi rst eight years. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39282.

  26. Odeyemi IA. Community-based health insurance programmes and the National Health Insurance Scheme of Nigeria: challenges to uptake and integration. Int J Equity Health. 2014 Feb 21;13:20.

  27. Center for Public Policy Alternatives. 2014. Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria: Assessing the Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) in Lagos. A study report [Internet]. Lagos: Center for Public Policy Alternatives; 2014 Jul [cited 2016 Nov 4]. 18 p. Available from: http://www.cpparesearch.org/ wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Community-Based -Health-Insurance.pdf

  28. International Center for Nigerian Law [Internet]. Abuja: ICFNL; c2017. Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria; 1999 [cited 2016 Nov 4]. Available from: http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfThe FederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

  29. Mills A. Health care systems in low-and-middleincome countries. N Engl J Med. 2014 Feb 6;370(6):552–7.

  30. Meessen B, Malanda B. No universal health coverage without strong local health systems. Bull World Health Organ. 2014 Feb 1;92(2):78–78A.

  31. Travis P, Bennett S, Haines A, Pang T, Bhutta Z, Hyder AA, et al. Overcoming health-systems constraints to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Lancet. 2004 Sep 4–10;364(9437):900–6.

  32. World Health Organization. Public fi nancing for health in Africa: from Abuja to the SDGs. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016. 92 p.

  33. National Population Commission (NG), ICF International. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2013. Abuja: NPC; 2014 Jun. 538 p.

  34. Ichoku HE, Fonta W, Onwujekwe OE. Incidence and intensity of catastrophic health care fi nancing and impoverishment due to out-of-pocket payments in southeast Nigeria. J Insurance Risk Manag. 2009;4(4):47–59.

  35. Olaniyan O, Lawanson AO. Health expenditure and health status in northern and southern Nigeria: a comparative analysis using national health account framework [Internet]. Paper presented at the 2010 CSAE Conference at St Catherine College, University of Oxford; 2010 Mar; Oxford, United Kingdom. Cape Town: Data First; 2010 [cited 2016 Oct 19]. 18 p. Available from: http:// www.csae.ox.ac.uk/conferences/2010-EdiA/ papers/451-Lawanson.pdf

  36. Kutzin J. Health fi nancing policy: a guide for decision- makers [Internet]. Copenhagen: World Health Organization, Regional Offi ce for Europe, Division of Country Health Systems; 2008 [cited 2016 Nov 4]. 26 p. Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/__ data/assets/pdf_fi le/0004/78871/E91422.pdf?ua=1

  37. Reeves A, Gourtsoyannis Y, Basu S, McCoy D, McKee M, Stuckler D. Financing universal health coverage–effects of alternative tax structures on public health systems: cross-sectional modelling in 89 low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2015 Jul 18;386(9990):274–80.

  38. Lu C, Schneider MT, Gubbins P, Leach-Kemon K, Jamison D, Murray CJ. Public fi nancing of health in developing countries: a crossnational systematic analysis. Lancet. 2010 Apr 17;375(9723):1375–87.

  39. Organization of African Unity (OAU). Abuja declaration on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases [Internet]. Abuja: OAU; 2001 Apr 27 [cited 2016 Nov 10]. 7 p. Available from: http://www.un.org/ga/aids/pdf/abuja_decla ration.pdf

  40. Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 8th National Health Act. Offi cial Gazette [Internet]. 2014 Oct 27 [cited 2016 Nov 4];101(145):139–72. Available from: http:// www.nphcda.gov.ng/Reports%20and%20Pub lications/Offi cial%20Gazette%20of%20the%20 National%20Health%20Act.pdf

  41. Gobah FK, Zhang L. The National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana: prospects and challenges. A cross-sectional evidence. Global J Health Sci. 2011;3(2):90–101.

  42. Nguyen HT, Rajkotia Y, Wang H. The Financial Protection Effect of Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme: evidence from a study in two rural districts. Int J Equity Health. 2011 Jan 19;10:4.




2020     |     www.medigraphic.com