By Henry Obetta
Healthcare financing last week in Lagos took centre stage as stakeholders renewed calls for sustainable and inclusive reforms to reduce Nigeria’s heavy reliance on out-of-pocket health spending as well as achieve universal health coverage, UHC.
This ways the core focus of deliberations at the 2025 Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria, HCPAN, Lagos State Branch, in Lagos.
The conference, themed “Unlocking the Value Chain in the Healthcare Sector Through Veritable Health Financing Options,” brought together policymakers, professionals, and health administrators to chart a new path for the sector.
In his keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of the Business School Netherlands, Prof. Lere Baale, said Nigeria’s health system must evolve beyond dependence on out-of-pocket payments, which account for over 70 percent of total health expenditure.
He called for the establishment of a dedicated Healthcare Development Bank to fund the sector and reduce the burden of high borrowing costs on providers.
“Healthcare cannot thrive in a free-market economy where practitioners borrow at 30 percent interest rates,” he said. “Health should be treated as an investment, not a cost. When we unlock the healthcare value chain through proper financing, we stimulate jobs, innovation, and national productivity.”
Baale urged the government to prioritize affordable credit, data-driven planning, and digital integration across the health system. “We must move from electronic medical records to electronic health records that connect patients, providers, and data,” he added.
Representing the Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Senator (Dr.) Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, the Acting Zonal Director, NHIA Lagos Zone, Hajia Aisha Abubakar Haruna, assured stakeholders that reforms are underway to expand health insurance coverage nationwide.
“The NHIA Council is committed to ensuring that every Nigerian is covered under one form of health insurance or another,” she said. “Health financing should not merely keep the system running; it must make it stronger, more equitable, and more accountable.”
Haruna highlighted ongoing partnerships such as the SafeCare Accreditation Programme with Farm Access, which promotes international standards in healthcare delivery, and the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) initiative that has provided free maternal and newborn care to thousands of women across several states.
In his remarks, HCPAN National President, Dr. Austine Aipoh, reaffirmed the association’s commitment to universal health coverage and compulsory health insurance. “If you want to achieve universal health coverage in Nigeria, you have to start from health insurance,” he said.
“Out-of-pocket payments have become obsolete because many Nigerians simply cannot afford to pay for their health.”
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of HCPAN Lagos, Pharm. Biola Paul-Ozieh, described the conference as a platform to generate actionable ideas on health financing reforms. She commended the Lagos State Government for initiating the Lagos Private Health Plan (LPHP), which seeks to integrate private providers into the state’s domestication of the NHIA Act.
“With over 70 percent of healthcare expenses paid out-of-pocket, the burden on citizens is enormous,” she said. “The LPHP will make insurance more inclusive, allow flexible premium structures, and promote risk equalization.”
Paul-Ozieh stressed the need for transparent fund disbursement, regular tariff reviews, and fair participation of private providers to make health insurance sustainable.
Also, the National Public Relations Officer of HCPAN, Dr. Chijioke Mbelu described the persistent out-of-pocket spending as “a dangerous indicator of system inefficiency,” warning that many private facilities are struggling to survive due to delayed remittances and low tariffs.
Also, the Conference Committee Chairperson, Mrs. Doris Callistus, said the forum was designed to “identify financing models that are practical, scalable, and transformative, fostering resilience and inclusivity across the healthcare ecosystem.”
The event, chaired by former Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Akin Osibogun, represented by Prof. B. Ogunowo, also featured expert presentations by Ms. Onome Debbie Akwara and Mrs. Oladotun Adeogun on improving service quality, enrollee experience, and partnerships in the health insurance ecosystem.
Oloriegbe urged sustained collaboration among providers, payers, and government to achieve UHC.
“The journey towards universal health coverage is not a sprint but a collective and sustained effort. With unity of purpose and unwavering commitment, we can build a health system that truly serves the Nigerian people.”
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