Nigeria Seeks Alternative Funds To Tackle Health Challenges
As global donor funding shrinks and health challenges mount, Nigeria is being forced to look inward and act quickly.
Speaker after speaker at the 9th Annual Health Conference of the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists (ANHeJ) says that without stronger domestic investment, the dream of Universal Health Coverage may remain out of reach.
The Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim Anas, said Nigeria must urgently scale up home-grown financing solutions to secure sustainable progress.
Dr Anas noted that strengthening the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, expanding financial protection under the National Health Insurance Authority Act, and exploring innovative revenue sources, such as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax, are central to the government’s strategy.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, who declared the conference open, noted that Nigeria has historically relied on large volumes of foreign assistance, from over $6 billion in PEPFAR support to billions more from the Global Fund, Gavi, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.
The minister of state, represented by his Special Adviser on Health System Strengthening, Babatunde Akinyemi, warned that external funding can no longer be guaranteed as donor transitions and global crises are competing.
Stakeholders also issued a strong warning to state governments to take greater responsibility or risk stalling the nation’s health ambitions.
They renewed calls for states to meet the Abuja Declaration target of allocating at least 15% of annual budgets to health.
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