A non-profit health communication and advocacy organisation, Nigeria Health Watch, in collaboration with The PUNCH and Premium Times, will on Wednesday, October 29, host a high-level webinar titled “Investing in Health in a Limited Fiscal Space.”
According to a press statement on Monday, the virtual event, scheduled to hold from 2 pm to 4 pm, will bring together policymakers, government leaders, development partners, civil society, and private sector stakeholders to discuss strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s health financing and advancing universal health coverage.
The organisers explained that the webinar aims to build on the outcomes of the recently concluded National Health Financing Dialogue by translating technical recommendations into actionable advocacy priorities for implementation at federal, state, and local levels.
“Nigeria is at a critical juncture in advancing health financing reforms. Despite recent progress, public health spending remains inadequate, with out-of-pocket payments accounting for 75–76% of total health expenditure among the highest globally. This situation continues to expose millions of households to catastrophic health costs,” the organisers said.
It noted that in view of the highlighted challenges, the Government had in 2023 launched the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, “anchored on a Sector-Wide Approach to align all stakeholders under a unified investment framework.”
They added that shifts in the global health funding landscape — including cuts in Official Development Assistance and the evolving “America First” Global Health Strategy — are redefining donor engagement in Africa.
“These developments underscore the urgency for Nigeria to accelerate its transition from aid dependency to a more resilient, self-sustaining health financing model.”
The statement further noted that across the continent, initiatives such as the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit and the Accra Reset are reframing health as a sovereign investment, not charity.
“In this context, Nigeria’s NHFD represented a turning point — reframing health financing as a sovereign, economic, and investment agenda linked to the nation’s human capital and macroeconomic growth strategy,” it added.
Through a keynote presentation, solution-focused panel discussions, and an action-oriented closing session, the webinar will explore practical strategies to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and budget efficiency, enhance accountability and coordination under the Sector-Wide Approach , expand insurance and risk-pooling mechanisms, promote Health Technology Assessment uptake, and support financing for mental health as well as local manufacturing of essential medicines and diagnostics.
“Participants can expect to deepen national conversations on health financing, strengthen coordination among federal, state, and development partners, and build consensus on key priorities such as domestic resource mobilisation, accountability, insurance expansion, and local production,” the organisers said.
The dialogue is also expected to define actionable steps for Nigeria to respond to declining donor funding, align with Africa’s health sovereignty agenda, and produce a time-bound advocacy roadmap with clear tasks, institutional leads, and follow-up mechanisms feeding into SWAp coordination and legislative engagement.
