Nigeria’s growing tax revenues present a significant opportunity to expand funding for vulnerable populations and drive progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) has said.
Speaking at the association’s annual general meeting in Lagos, the newly elected HMCAN President, Dr. Abdulkadri Osuma, said the conference theme was deliberately chosen to spotlight the vast opportunities within Nigeria’s healthcare landscape as well as the gaps in existing legislation that could stall sectoral growth if not urgently addressed.
He urged the federal government to maximise the fiscal gains through policy alignment and strategic investment in health.
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Osuma noted that Nigeria’s large population offers immense potential for health insurance expansion that could improve key health indicators, especially maternal and child mortality.
However, he stressed the need to urgently resolve contradictions between the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act and the recently enacted NIIRA law.
Also speaking, the immediate past HMCAN President, Dr. Leke Oshunniyi, said health insurance managers remain central to national health financing efforts, particularly in a country where over 100 million people are multidimensionally poor.
He noted that Nigeria’s tax revenues are projected to reach between N30 trillion and N35 trillion in 2025, and even higher in 2026 when new tax laws take effect, creating what he described as a “massive opportunity” to scale up health financing for the poorest Nigerians.
Chairman of the event, Dr. Kolawole Owoka, emphasised the need for the federal government to prioritise demand creation around every health facility it constructs, warning that many centres become underutilised or abandoned due to poor community engagement.
He urged the government to adopt a clearly defined model, either the British or German approach, to achieving UHC and remain consistent in its implementation.
