CIRCULAR NO SGG,6/T3/190

Universal Health Coverage is unattainable without MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE.

Making health insurance mandatory shows that this government is now serious about universal health coverage.

According to this directive, ALL EMPLOYEES OF MDAs must have health insurance. There are consequences for fail8ng t9 enroll.

All business entities seeking government contracts must present Health Insurance Certificates.

All MDAs will require businesses to present a valid health insurance certificate as a precondition for issuance and renewal of licenses, permits and other official approvals.

Universal Health Coverage, UHC, is the best ever concept that Public Health offers. It involves meeting the healthcare needs of every citizen without causing catastrophic medical bill. It means access to affordable health services for everyone, everytime, everywhere, 

The concept started in 1978 with the Health For All campaign. Nigeria failed to achieve Health for all. At the turn of the millenium, a new set of goals were developed, the Millenium Development Goals, MDGs. In spite of a huge amount of resources devoted to it, Nigeria failed to achieve any of the MDGs, particularly the health related MDGs which were a rehash of Health for all concept. 

Some countries achieved the MDGs but Nigeria was not one of them. On 12th December 2022, the United Nations passed a resolution on Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 13 is about population health wherein all nations are enjoined to provide healthcare for all their citizens, namely Universal Health Coverage, by 2030. 

In 2023, countries around the world reaffirmed their commitment to health for all by adopting the Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at the UN High-Level Meeting on UHC. In doing so, they recognized UHC as fundamental to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – not only those related to health and well-being (SDG 3), but also those related to poverty eradication, access to education, gender equality, climate change and building peaceful and inclusive societies.

The Nigerian national policy on Universal Health Coverage has been inconsisted and half-heartedly pursued until the present administration of President Tinubu. The President recognises the enormity of UHC and therefore has been calling on Public Private Partnership to achieve it.

The Circular of 5th September is a huge forward step towards UHC in Nigeria. But the focus of the circular is the formal sector. A similar focus on the informal or community setting is required. Public Health Solutions will champion th campaign for health insurance for both informal and formal sectors.

Public Health Solutions is a response to the federal government's call and we have developed our template of PPP through which Nigeria can achieve UHC before 2030.