The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called on Nigeria to accelerate the rollout of a robust national health insurance system to reduce the country’s high out-of-pocket healthcare spending, warning that the current model is pushing millions into financial hardship.
Speaking at Nigeria’s Joint Annual Review (JAR) organised by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Abuja, Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, said Africa’s reliance on direct household payments remains a major threat to equitable healthcare access, noting that out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for up to 75% of total health spending across the continent.
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