Nigeria’s Health Insurance Crisis: BOF‑PSN Calls For National Mobilisation As Millions Remain Uncovered

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 LAGOS – In bustling markets across Nigeria, women haggle over prices of tomatoes and peppers, their minds never far from the rising cost of healthcare. For many, a sudden illness can mean financial ruin. It is this grim reality that the Board of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (BOF‑PSN) is determined to confront.

At a media briefing ahead of its eighth Annual Public Lecture and 2026 Mid‑Year Meeting, the Fellows issued a strong appeal – Nigeria must urgently expand health insurance coverage if it is to protect its citizens from catastrophic medical expenses and move closer to Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Pharm. Uchenna Apakama, Chairman of BOF‑PSN, represented by Pharm. Ignatius Anukwu, Chairman of the Planning Committee, did not mince words. He described Nigeria’s health insurance programme as stagnant, despite being introduced more than two decades ago under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with Dr Eyitayo Lambo as Minister of Health. “Only about five to eight per cent of Nigerians are currently covered by health insurance,” Apakama said. “The overwhelming majority still rely on out‑of‑pocket payments, which push families deeper into poverty.”

The Fellows’ prescription clearly demands a multi‑sector mobilisation. They are urging lawmakers, trade unions, professional associations, and philanthropists to step in where government alone has faltered. Apakama called on members of the House of Representatives to dedicate part of their constituency intervention funds to sponsoring health insurance premiums for vulnerable groups. “Each member of the House may not be able to enrol everyone in their constituency, but they can start with specific vulnerable groups. If every lawmaker enrols about 10,000 people, it will significantly increase the number of Nigerians covered,” he argued.

The appeal extends beyond parliament. Organised groups in both the formal and informal sectors—such as the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), market women’s associations, plumbers, hairdressers and other trade unions—were urged to embrace group enrolment. Apakama pointed to the National Association of Industrial Pharmacists, where members requiring health insurance are already covered through the association. “Health insurance should not be left to the government alone. Associations can drive awareness and increase enrolment,” he stressed.

Philanthropists and charitable foundations were also called upon to sponsor health insurance for vulnerable Nigerians as part of corporate social responsibility and social investment programmes. Such interventions, Apakama noted, would rapidly expand coverage while easing the financial hardship imposed by out‑of‑pocket payments.

Pharm. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka, Managing Director of Nemitt Pharma Ltd, reinforced the urgency of the call. He insisted that governments at both federal and state levels must lead the charge, supported by employers in both public and private sectors. Chukwuemeka explained that the forthcoming public lecture would provide a platform for stakeholders to interrogate the obstacles hindering health insurance growth and to craft practical recommendations for policymakers. “The goal is to examine the challenges affecting health insurance enrolment, stimulate robust discussions, and produce a communiqué containing actionable recommendations for governments and other stakeholders. We also hope to develop proposals that will encourage state governments and community‑based organisations to enrol more citizens,” he said.

The eighth Annual Public Lecture and 2026 Mid‑Year Meeting of the BOF‑PSN, themed “Insurance‑Based Healthcare Financing: Key to Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria”, begins today, Wednesday, at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. The event is expected to convene policymakers, healthcare professionals, health economists, and other stakeholders to deliberate on sustainable healthcare financing and strategies for achieving UHC.

For millions of Nigerians, the Fellows’ message is not abstract policy but a matter of survival. In communities where a single hospital bill can wipe out years of savings, the call for collective action resonates deeply. The BOF‑PSN insists that the time for piecemeal efforts has passed. What is required now is a national mobilisation—one that harnesses the collective strength of government, organised labour, trade unions and civil society to ensure that every Nigerian has access to affordable, quality healthcare.

The question is whether Nigeria’s leaders and institutions will heed the call. For the market women, the transport workers, the journalists and countless others, the stakes could not be higher.