The Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS, Prof. Abubakar O Sulaiman has urged governments at all levels to establish sustainable funding mechanisms for the health sector in Nigeria, aiming to alleviate the burden of high out-of-pocket health expenses.

He conveyed this message during the First Monthly Seminar Series of the Department of Economic and Social Research, titled “Assessment of Health Financing Progress Towards Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria (2015-2022).”

During the seminar, he emphasized the importance of updating national health plans and keeping public budgetary resources central to financing universal health coverage.

Dr. Osaretin Okungbowa, a Research Fellow of the Institute, who presented the paper, highlighted in the presentation that out-of-pocket payment (OOP) for health services is a significant contributing factor to pushing millions into poverty in Nigeria.