Abuja, FCT – The federal government has committed to ensuring that youths across Nigeria are protected from out-of-pocket spending when accessing healthcare services.
Obinna Ebirim, the technical adviser to the minister of youth and development said this at the launch and stakeholders’ dialogue on youth health financing in Abuja, attended by Legit.ng.
The report, a study by the Development Education Network (DEAN Initiative), in partnership with the Government of Ireland through the Irish Aid showed that young people, especially the unemployed, are majorly uninsured and cannot afford healthcare services.
It also assessed the level of health awareness and access to healthcare services among young people in the Federal Capital Territory and highlighted the exclusion of people who lack financial means, for key services like Primary Healthcare, mental health services and essential healthcare beyond sexual and reproductive health.
Youths constitute 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population
Meanwhile, Ebirim said that the youths constitute 60 per cent of the nation’s population and that Nigeria suffers low health insurance coverage.
Ebirim said:
“This means that over 90 percent of this population either pay out of pocket and its consequence is that this population are driven into spending and hardship.
“At the Ministry of Youth Development, we are committed to supporting, empowering and protecting young people. That is where all that we are trying to do sits on,” he said.
He added that at the ministry, it is believed that no matter the quality of empowerment made available to young people, without access to good health and adequate financing there is a problem.
“For instance, if you empower an artisan to set up a shop, if they then have to spend all their profit and sometimes even their capital on paying for health services, then that doesn’t make sense,” Ebirim said.
Youth ministry ready for partnership
Commending the DEAN Initiative for the report, Ebirim said the ministry is eager to work with partners and stakeholders to work out ways to protect young people from out-of-pocket spending on health services.
In his address, the executive director of Dean Initiative, Semiye Michael highlighted the need for partnerships with the government and relevant stakeholders in the health industry to bridge the gaps.
He called for the advancement of sustainable funding mechanisms and policy measures to ensure that healthcare is accessible to all young people, regardless of their economic status.
“We must have the audacity to challenge and interrogate existing systems and policies because there will always be a better way to do things.
“There will always be new and better ways of doing things and we must, at all times be ready to adopt. We are here to look at the things we are doing as it relates to youth involvement in health, to bridge the healthcare needs of our youths at the Primary Health Care level,” Michael said.
Also speaking, the chief executive officer of Development International Governance, DGI Consult, Gafar Alawode, called for accelerated health financing reforms to improve access for young Nigerians.
According to Alawode, the nation’s health financing mechanisms need to be reexamined because the current government health allocations were not enough to meet the country’s health needs.
“Nigeria spends roughly $10 per person on health, whereas achieving universal health coverage requires about $86 per person.
“The Abuja Declaration recommends allocating 15 percent of the national budget to health, yet Nigeria spends below five percent. Regarding GDP, countries advancing towards universal coverage allocate around five percent, while Nigeria devotes less than one percent,” Alawode said.
What DEAN Initiative report recommends
In its recommendation, the report said that in order to address the identified gaps, a proven and highly effective mechanism to lighten the financial burden of health care for the unemployed and vulnerable youth groups should be designed.
In addition, the report said the government should consider data aggregation and employment verification, youth health outreach and awareness campaigns, PHC youth-friendly service reform, gender and vulnerability analysis in policy design and stakeholder involvement and public-private partnerships.
Soludo suspends health worker
In another report, a health worker, Mrs Njideka Ezeihejiofor, was demoted and suspended for refusing to attend to a pregnant woman who delivered a stillborn baby outside Ukpo Primary Healthcare Centre in Anambra state.
The disciplinary panel chaired by Anambra state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, approved Ezeihejiofor’s suspension on Friday, February 14, 2025.
Ezeihejiofor was suspended after investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
