Socioeconomic and Policy Context of the Nigerian Health Care Financing System: A Literature Review

Abstract

This paper deals with the socioeconomic and policy context of the Nigerian Health Care financing system. The paper is divided into; Introduction, dealing with the Nigerian Health System, Nigerian Health Care Financing System, the Nigerian Health Sector Reforms, Policies in place for financing health care in Nigeria, Sources of health care financing in Nigeria and brief health profile of the Nigerian Population. The paper finds that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is silent on the roles the different levels of government plays in health care financing. Hence, there is need for the constitution to be explicit on the roles the different levels of government should play in healthcare financing through legislative clarification. The paper also finds that the Nigerian health care financing system is dominated by excessive reliance on out-of-pocket expenditure for financing healthcare. The paper concludes that a health system dominated by excessive reliance on out-of-pocket expenditure such as Nigeria will find it difficult to achieve universal health coverage for her population. Hence, the paper recommends that government should adhere to the 15% total budget commitment to health care as required by the Abuja Declaration 2005.