COVID‐19 and progress towards achieving universal health coverage in Africa: A case of Nigeria

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) 2030 is a global health target, and countries are making efforts to convert plans into tangible results. Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, has made commitments towards UHC2030 target but is underperforming across many building blocks of health and progres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International Journal of Health Planning and Management 2021-09, Vol.36 (5), p.1417-1422
Main Authors: Amos, Oladunni Abimbola, Adebisi, Yusuff Adebayo, Bamisaiye, Adeola, Olayemi, Alaka Hassan, Ilesanmi, Esther Bosede, Micheal, Alumuku Iordepuun, Ekpenyong, Aniekan, Lucero‐Prisno, Don Eliseo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
COVID-19
Density
Economics
Global health
Health care
Health services
Health status
health system strengthening
Informal economy
Infrastructure
Nigeria
Pandemics
Poverty
Primary care
Public health
Universal Health Coverage
Workforce
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Summary:Universal Health Coverage (UHC) 2030 is a global health target, and countries are making efforts to convert plans into tangible results. Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, has made commitments towards UHC2030 target but is underperforming across many building blocks of health and progress has been slow. The arrival of COVID‐19 poses additional pressure on the already feeble health system causing the government to direct focus towards containing the pandemic. However, existing gaps in health workforce density, weak primary health care infrastructure and inadequate budgetary allocation have resulted in inequitable access to basic healthcare services. This situation weighs most heavily on the poor who are mostly part of the informal economy thereby pushing people further into poverty. On the other hand, COVID‐19 has provided valuable insights into Nigeria's current health system status which hopefully can be helpful in strengthening efforts towards building resilient health system and preparing the country towards future pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of essential health services and the need to strengthen primary healthcare system. It is, therefore, important that stakeholders in Nigeria and other African countries carry out situation analysis of the current health systems towards achieving UHC2030.
ISSN:0749-6753
1099-1751
DOI:10.1002/hpm.3263