Healthcare Coverage and Affordability in Nigeria: An Alternative Model to Equitable Healthcare Delivery

Alex Asakitikpi

A chapter in Universal Health Coverage from IntechOpen

Abstract: Healthcare delivery in Nigeria has faced major challenges toward achieving universal health coverage. While significant progress was made in the first two decades after the country's independence in 1960, the economic downturn resulting from the plummeting of oil price of which Nigeria was dependent led to a series of twists and turns in the health sector. Health policies were subsequently influenced by external forces, and the adoption of the structural adjustment program signaled a shift from a predominantly welfare scheme to the introduction of user fee and the resultant proliferation of private healthcare provision. This paper discusses the crises that followed the turbulent health policies ever since by identifying some key factors that were glossed over by successive government regimes in formulating health policies in Nigeria. The paper concludes by suggesting a more inclusive model that will ensure equitability in the health sector and accessibility to healthcare services in the country.

Keywords: Nigeria; health policy; healthcare coverage; universal healthcare; health-seeking behavior; healthcare delivery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ito:pchaps:190228

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.85978

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