In furtherance of the objective of putting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on the political front burner ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general elections, the UHC 2023 Forum in collaboration with the Chatham House Centre for Universal Health hosted three Nigerian Governors and other health experts in Chatham House on the 23rd of September 2022 to discuss key challenges in Nigeria’s health system, and identify options for global collaborative efforts and opportunities to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes in the country.
The high-level event tagged “Accelerating UHC in Nigeria: Optimizing Institutional Opportunities and Partnerships” featured His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos State); His Excellency Governor Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe State); and His Excellency Engr. Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa State). Other speakers at the event include the Prof Nasir M Sambo (Director General the of National Health Insurance Authority), Prof. Aliko Ahmed (Associate Fellow, Chatham House Centre for Global Health), Prof. Kara Hanson (Health System Economist, London School of Tropical Medicine), and Dr Gafar Alawode (Co-convener, UHC 2023 Forum).
The event highlighted the Governors’ policy reform efforts towards the attainment of UHC over the last three years and how to address the current policy and implementation challenges hindering the attainment of UHC, especially for expanding health coverage to the poor and vulnerable population. The highpoint of the event was the commitment by the Governors to increase public funding to the health sector for the expansion of quality health care to the poor and vulnerable population.
“Development Governance International (DGI) Consult is a founding member of the UHC 2023 Forum which is a coalition of a wide array of stakeholders working towards raising the political prioritization of health in Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections”.
