Universal Health Coverage Day [UHC] which is held annually on the 10th of December is a day set aside to raise awareness surrounding the need for easy access to quality essential health services without suffering financial hardship. This year’s event is tagged, “Leave No One’s Health Behind”. The purpose of the events on this day is to remind leaders and stakeholders to make smarter investments in health and also remind the world about the importance of universal health coverage (UHC).
According to the World Health Organization [WHO], Universal Health Coverage means that everyone everywhere has access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. It includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care, without exposing patients and their families to financial hardship.
WHO estimates that half of the people in the world do not receive the health services they need and about 100 million people globally including 11 million Africans, are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of out-of-pocket spending on health.
According to research statistics, in Nigeria, out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for over 70% of national spending on health. Nigeria scores poorly on multiple UHC indicators, including the provision of government funding for health and the percentage of health expenditure accounted for by out-of-pocket expenses.
Although Nigeria has committed itself to delivering UHC and has established a comprehensive national UHC policy framework, not much progress has been made in the implementation of this framework. The country still has a long way to go to achieving UHC as prescribed by WHO.
On this Universal Health Coverage Day, we therefore urge Nigerian leaders at different levels and stakeholders to invest in and strengthen our health systems to ensure they are equitable, resilient, and capable of meeting everyone’s needs. No one must be left behind.
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