Headlines

80% of Nigerians Sliding into Poverty Due to Rising Healthcare Cost

Published

3 years ago

July 28, 2022

WHO recommends “mpox” as new name for monkeypox

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s population has fallen into poverty as they struggle to pay hospital bills.

This was just as the Senate on Tuesday considered two critical bills seeking to tackle poverty and put a stop to intellectual property theft in the country.

For WHO, its Technical Officer on Health Financing, Dr. Francis Nwachukwu Ukwuije, who revealed this while speaking at a meeting with management of the Nigeria Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in Abuja Tuesday, said the country could make healthcare more affordable and accessible.

He said: ” You are aware that in Nigeria today we have very high out of pocket expenditure of more than 70 per cent on health and over 50 per cent of the population and in some states up to 80 per cent of Nigeria’s population have to fall into poverty due to ill health or due to payment for healthcare.”

He further said efforts at implementing compulsory health insurance in Nigeria was as important as advancing development of the country.

“I wish to state that as WHO, we have the mandate to support member states in their priority areas and we can see that financing health insurance is one of the accelerators that the country has chosen and also primary healthcare towards universal health coverage,” he said.

The WHO team was at the NHIA headquarters to kick-start engagement that would ensure proper and effective implementation of the newly enacted law on mandatory health insurance for Nigerians.

Ukwuije said the WHO’s mission to the NHIA was useful for the reasons that, first-it would help to support the NHIA and energise it towards operationalising the new law in order to gain the benefits therein.

“Secondly, to ensure that we have good representation and high level of advocacy to the government of Nigeria and to those who make the laws and policies in the country. Thirdly, to support the country in mopping up areas of health financing for the attainment of the Universal health coverage,” he said.

The Country Representative for WHO in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Molumbo said the 3-day engagement would provide an opportunity for the global health body to interact with the leadership of NHIA.

He said WHO believes that it was the best way to go if Nigeria was to achieve the universal health coverage.

“It is a good opportunity for us and it is a privilege to be part of this high level advocacy meeting to review strategies on how we will operationalise this health insurance authority bill and how WHO can offer support to strengthen NHIA to deliver in it’s mandated.

“We also want to use this opportunity to interact with as many stakeholders as possible to enable the NHIA to drive the universal health coverage in Nigeria,” he said.

While welcoming the WHO team, the Director General of the NHIA, Prof. Mohammed Sambo said he was elated to receive them, adding that together with his management, they would be able to set the right template to drive an all-inclusive health insurance financing for Nigeria.

He said the team would oversee the setting up of critical building block of the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.

Sambo also said the significance of the assent to the new mandatory health insurance scheme by President Muhammed Buhari was that more Nigerians would now be able to benefit from good healthcare delivery system.

“By signing that law, the president has not only exhibited commitment to achieving the next level agenda of the healthcare delivery system, but also that of delivering the democratic dividends to Nigerians,” he said.

Sambo said there was no gainsaying that healthcare was one of the critical elements of development.

He said it had been acknowledged the best way to attain universal health coverage in Nigeria was to ensure that, “we provide financial assistance to the people to enable them have unhindered access to healthcare.”

“And the veritable means of providing this assistance is through health insurance,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday considered two critical bills seeking to tackle poverty and put a stop to intellectual property theft in the country.

One of the bills provides for the establishment of the National Poverty Alleviation Management Commission; while the other seeks to re-enact the Patent and Design Act 2021 to revise the existing intellectual property law to prohibit theft.

Both bills scaled second reading during plenary.

The bill to establish the National Poverty Alleviation Management Commission seeks to empower the Commission to coordinate and regulate all forms of poverty alleviation funds.

The bill was sponsored by Senator Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya (APC – Katsina Central).

Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Barkiya said its passage and assent into law, “will have tremendous and vital impact on the reduction of poverty level, ravaging the majority of citizens in the country.”

According to the lawmaker, this includes the poor and their families who find it difficult to feed themselves.

He explained that the proper and efficient management of poverty alleviation funds through sufficient regulation would drastically cut-down on the poverty rate in Nigeria.

“It is imperative to note, that the passage of this bill will effectively and efficiently regulate all forms of funds provided to alleviate poverty in the land, especially to remedy the suffering of our citizens.

“This aforementioned fund could be granted by the government, or international and local donations in order to minimise the high level of hardship that people go through within the country”, the lawmaker said.

Contributing to the debate, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong (PDP – Akwa-Ibom North West), described the bill as “bi-partisan”.

He lamented that resources allocated for poverty alleviation most times do not get to the poor as a result of mismanagement.

He observed that having a Commission in place as intended by the bill would see to the realisation of the objectives of the federal government in the aspect of poverty reduction.

On his part, Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC – Sokoto East) recalled that a similar bill was passed under the eighth senate but failed to receive presidential assent.

He, therefore, advised the President to sign the bill into law, adding that putting in place management models to determine the level of impact made through programmes targeted at poverty alleviation would, to a large extent, compliment the bill.

The bill after consideration was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Poverty Alleviation for further inputs.

The Committee was given four weeks to report back to the Senate in plenary.

Related Topics:Accessmagazine Accessnews AccessNewsMagazine news NewsUpdate

Up Next

Tinubu group commends emergence of Most Rev. Okoh as new CAN President

Don't Miss

Austin Umahi declines appointment as RMAFC secretary

Derrick Bangura

Click to comment

Education

NELFUND Urges Institutions to Upload Student Data for Loan Processing

Published

3 hours ago

June 18, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

NELFUND Disburses Over N20bn in Student Loans, Assures Transparency

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a directive to all accredited tertiary institutions to verify and upload their students’ data on the newly digitised Student Loan Application System (SLAS).

This was disclosed in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

According to Oluwatuyi, the SLAS platform has been fully digitised to streamline and accelerate the student loan processing experience for both institutions and applicants.

“With this upgrade, all accredited institutions are now required to request access to SLAS to verify and upload student data related to loan applications,” she said.

She described the move as “a critical step that ensures the timely processing and disbursement of approved student loans.”

Institutions that have not yet been onboarded onto the system, she said, are advised to send an access request to registration@nelf.gov.ng without delay.

“Once granted access, institutions will be able to view a real-time dashboard of their students’ loan applications, verify submitted data, and track the status of each application,” Oluwatuyi explained.

She called on all institutions to take immediate action in the interest of their students, stressing that verification and data upload by institutions are mandatory steps before final approval and disbursement of loans can be completed.

On the students’ side, Oluwatuyi noted that if an application status currently shows “Verified,” it means the application has passed initial checks. However, final approval and disbursement depend on the institutions’ confirmation and data upload.

“Once this process is completed, your status will be updated to ‘Disbursed’ when the payment of your fees has been processed,” she added.

She also encouraged students to reach out to the fund for assistance via email at info@nelf.gov.ng.

Other official communication channels include:

X (formerly Twitter): @nelfund
Instagram: @nelfund
Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND

Crime

Police Foil Cult Initiation in Anambra, Arrest Six Suspects

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

The Anambra State Police Command has foiled a cult initiation ceremony in Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesperson for the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Awka.

According to Ikenga, the operation was carried out by police operatives around 9:30am on June 15, leading to the arrest of six suspects at the scene.

Recovered during the raid were one Jojef pump action gun, two cartridges, and a golden-coloured Lexus SUV with registration number ATN 202 AE. Other items found include two cutlasses, two scissors, a cap bearing the inscription of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

“They are currently undergoing police interrogation to get more insight into their modus operandi, after which the case will be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations,” Ikenga stated.

The police spokesperson reassured residents of the command’s unwavering commitment to fighting cultism and other related crimes across the state.

Headlines

Tinubu Urges United Front on Development as Africa’s Sovereign Wealth Funds Gather in Abuja

Published

2 days ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

President Bola Tinubu on Monday called for greater regional cooperation and coordinated action among African countries to unlock transformative development across the continent.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) in Abuja, the President said sovereign wealth funds must evolve from passive fiscal buffers into proactive tools for continental transformation.

“Our future lies not in working in silos but in pursuing regional cooperation and collective ambition,” Tinubu said while declaring the forum open. “Our sovereign wealth funds must become the anchors for pan-African investment platforms that de-risk projects, standardise processes and deliver sustainable outcomes at scale. This is not just a strategy. This is a necessity.”

The forum, hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), had the theme: “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa.”

President Tinubu emphasized the need for Africa to adapt to a rapidly transforming global economy by rethinking investment strategies to close infrastructure gaps, build climate resilience, and create jobs for the continent’s fast-growing youth population.

“Africa faces a development dilemma: limited fiscal space, growing expectations, and urgent demands for long-term capital,” the President noted. “There can be no greater inspiration to re-imagine how we invest in setting up critical infrastructure, strengthening our climate resilience, promoting food security, supporting MSMEs, or embracing digital economy to create jobs and expand opportunity.”

He lauded NSIA as a model institution, describing it as “a catalyst in our national quest” to unlock growth in renewable energy, healthcare, agriculture, and more.

Tinubu added that ASIF provided a much-needed pan-African mechanism for sovereign funds to “share knowledge, co-invest across borders and speak with a unified voice in the global financial ecosystem.”

Also speaking at the event, Managing Director of NSIA, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the forum was expected to lay the groundwork for African sovereign funds to co-create sustainable investment vehicles capable of attracting global capital.

“We want to strike the right balance between risk-taking and conservative wealth management,” he said. “And we aim to position ourselves as preferred strategic partners for global investors looking for credible exposure in Africa.”

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, highlighted capital mobilisation, cross-border collaboration, and policy alignment as key priorities for driving long-term development across the continent.

President of AfreximBank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, underscored the importance of investing Africa’s sovereign wealth within the continent, stressing that domestic markets must be strengthened to shape Africa’s developmental future.

Chairman of ASIF, Mr. Obaid Amrane, said the forum had made significant strides in its three years of existence and would continue to champion Africa’s global investment positioning.

Delivering a rousing address, renowned Pan-African scholar Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba called on African leaders to prioritise investments for future generations.

“It is an intergenerational duty for political and economic leaders on the continent to cater for unborn generations,” Lumumba said. “Africa’s resources are inexhaustible. The time to invest in our future is now.”

With a convergence of policymakers, development financiers, and investment leaders, the ASIF meeting in Abuja signalled a united determination to rethink Africa’s path to development—driven not by aid, but by African capital working for African progress.