The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to procuring essential medicines to provide succour for the rising cost of medicines and healthcare products in the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, made this known on Thursday in Abuja at the commemoration of Universal Health Coverage, UHC, Day.
The minister said that the three-year Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain was unveiled a year ago to save lives, reduce physical and financial pain, and produce health for all Nigerians.
“In the medium and long term, the local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products and commodities will help reduce costs and ensure availability within the country. This contributes to UHC’s goal of reducing the financial burden of health services,” he stated.
According to him, the government is undertaking deliberate and well-considered measures that will impact Nigeria’s economy positively and reduce both physical and financial pain, which aligns with the goal of the UHC to reduce out-of-pocket health expenditure and impoverishment from healthcare spending.
Speaking on health insurance, the minister said that 2 million persons had been added, bringing the total to 8 million insured lives.
“Our administration has increased the number of lives enrolled in health insurance by 14% as of Q3 of 2024.
“This is a modest yet significant addition of 2 million persons to the pool in less than a year. It brings the total to 8 million insured lives. Since the scheme was launched in 2005, if we had 2 million lives enrolled every year, we would have had about 40 million Nigerians with health insurance coverage today,” Pate said.
He further stated that N45.9bn has been disbursed through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund to assist indigent and vulnerable Nigerians in accessing medical care without paying for it at the time and point of need.
Pate also revealed the government’s plan to purchase health for target groups whose insurance premiums are high.
“As of October 2024, we had successfully undertaken 879 obstetric fistula repairs across 19 centres in the country with a target of 2,500 before the year ends. This has restored the quality of lives of our women and their dignity,” he added.