The International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day for 2024, marked on December 12, highlights the urgency for leaders to reinvigorate investment in Nigeria’s primary healthcare sector to ensure all citizens have unfettered access to affordable healthcare.
Designated by the United Nations, the UHC Day serves as an annual rallying point for advocates to raise their voices and share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for healthcare, call on leaders to make smarter investments in health, and remind the world about the imperative of UHC. It also aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage.
It is a day that marks the anniversary of the unanimous endorsement of UHC in 2012 as an essential priority for international development.
On December 12, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) as an essential priority for international development.
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This year’s theme, “Health: It’s on the Government,” underscores that providing basic healthcare is primarily the responsibility of governments. It stresses the need for leaders to make more significant and effective investments in health, reinforcing the fact that “Health for All” is a human right and crucial for building equitable and resilient societies.
A recent report by this newspaper, “Nigerians under burden of malaria,” exemplifies one of UHC’s core aims—telling the stories of millions still waiting for healthcare. The report highlights how Nigerians are grappling with an increase in malaria prevalence and the associated financial burden, which has become a growing concern for families amid skyrocketing treatment costs.
It revealed that many families are increasingly finding it difficult to meet the costs of over-the-counter medicines for malaria, as well as the cost of treatment when they fall ill or are diagnosed with the perennial ailment.
According to UHC2030, at least 16 per cent of Nigerian households are experiencing financial hardship due to health spending, with 76 per cent of health expenditures financed by out-of-pocket payments (2021 data).
It is on the above premise and other compelling evidence that we join the international community in reiterating that Nigerian governments, from the federal to state and local levels, have a responsibility to provide universal health coverage.
It is unfortunate that the year 2024 has brought Nigerians more pain than gain, with many lives needlessly lost to inadequate or unaffordable healthcare services. This is even more worrisome when the provision of basic and quality healthcare was one of the reasons advanced for the removal of the petrol subsidy, with the government arguing that the additional revenue would be channelled into key sectors, including health. But months down the line, instead of the promised relief, the situation has worsened, especially with the continued exit of international pharmaceutical companies occasioned by the high cost of drugs.
We believe the government must make conscious decisions through effective policies and/or executive orders to bring down the cost of medicine.
The astronomical costs associated with healthcare in the country have inadvertently increased dependence on unregulated herbal alternatives, with their attendant consequences.
While the government may argue its investment in the healthcare sector through the National Health Insurance Authority, several investigative reports have revealed how this has become a bureaucracy instead of really addressing the problem. Moreover, Nigerians in rural areas, who make up the majority of our population, have limited or no access to the scheme, while many urban dwellers with access to it lament its inefficiency.
The Nigerian government must recognise that life expectancy is greatly tied to access to healthcare. There must be more investment in primary healthcare—not just in the infrastructural development of primary healthcare centres, but in the human resources that will drive them. Even infrastructural investments must be need-driven; reports abound of hospitals without functional pharmacies or essential equipment. Many healthcare centres exist in name only, without the capacity to provide even basic services.
The decay in the healthcare system has also contributed to the exodus of skilled health workers through the “japa” phenomenon, further depleting an already insufficient workforce. Many of these migrating health workers have cited poor remuneration and working conditions as key factors. It goes without saying that the bulk of addressing this problem lies with the government.
We at Daily Trust call on the government to develop a comprehensive health system that fits into global best practices.
Governments must recognise that, according to Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the grand norm, one of their objectives is to provide universal healthcare coverage. They must, therefore, understand that universal healthcare coverage is not optional—it is a necessity.
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