Financial Protection and Universal Health Coverage in Nigerian

Abstract

Universal Coverage and financial protection are the goals of health systems the world over. Using data from the Harmonized Nigerian Living Standard Survey HNLSS 2009/2010 to calculate the catastrophic and impoverishing impacts of out-of-pocket health payment in Nigeria, we discovered that 19.5% of Nigerians suffered financial catastrophe, while 3.5% are pushed below the poverty line. Factors associated with catastrophic health expenditure include; household size, number of spouse in the household, geopolitical zones, place of residence, household sex. We also utilized the tool of financing incidence analysis to show the progressivity of out-of-pocket expenditure across socioeconomic groups in Nigeria. A health system dominated by excessive reliance on out-of-pocket expenditure cannot achieve the goal of financial protection and UC. Vulnerable households with high risks of catastrophic and impoverishing effects of OOP should be targeted.

Keywords: Financial protection, Universal Health Coverage, Catastrophic health expenditure, impoverishment and Out-of-pocket expenditure