International records / OpenAlex research

Beyond insurance numbers: Why Nigeria’s health financing model continues to fail financial protection

Financial protection is a core pillar of universal health coverage and is explicitly captured under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.8.2. Yet Nigeria remains one of the poorest-performing countries globally on this indicator, despite over two decades of health financing reforms. Less than 5% of the population is covered by any form of health insurance, while out-of-pocket payments account for more than two-thirds of total health expenditure. Consequently, between one-quarter and one-third of Nigerian households experience catastrophic health expenditure annually, with the burden disproport…