Nigeria Health Watch, a leading non-profit organisation focused on health communication and advocacy, has announced a strategic collaboration with The PUNCH and Premium Times to host a high-level health policy webinar titled “Investing in Health in a Limited Fiscal Space.”
The virtual dialogue, scheduled for Wednesday, October 29, 2025, will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will convene policymakers, government officials, development partners, civil society leaders, and private sector stakeholders to discuss sustainable strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s health financing and advancing universal health coverage (UHC).
According to a statement released on Monday, the event seeks to build on the outcomes of the recently concluded National Health Financing Dialogue (NHFD) by translating its technical recommendations into actionable advocacy priorities for implementation at the federal, state, and local levels.
“Nigeria stands at a defining moment in its journey toward health financing reform. Despite progress, public health spending remains inadequate, with out-of-pocket payments accounting for between 75% and 76% of total health expenditure — one of the highest globally,” the organisers stated.
They noted that the Federal Government’s 2023 Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, anchored on a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), aims to align stakeholders under a unified national investment framework.
The organisers also highlighted that shifts in global health funding — including reduced Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the evolving “America First” Global Health Strategy — are redefining donor relationships with African nations.
“These developments underscore the urgency for Nigeria to reduce aid dependency and transition toward a self-sustaining, resilient health financing model,” the statement added.
Across Africa, new initiatives such as the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit and the Accra Reset are reframing health investment as a sovereign and economic priority rather than charity. In this context, Nigeria’s NHFD was described as a pivotal step in linking health financing to human capital development and macroeconomic growth.
The two-hour webinar will feature a keynote presentation, solution-focused panel discussions, and an action-oriented closing session. Key themes include:
Strengthening domestic resource mobilisation and budget efficiency
Enhancing accountability and coordination under the SWAp framework
Expanding insurance and risk-pooling mechanisms
Promoting Health Technology Assessment (HTA) adoption
Supporting mental health financing and local manufacturing of essential medicines and diagnostics
Organisers said the dialogue aims to deepen national conversations on sustainable health financing, strengthen intergovernmental coordination, and build consensus on priorities such as accountability, insurance expansion, and local production.
The forum is also expected to outline a time-bound advocacy roadmap — detailing key tasks, institutional responsibilities, and follow-up mechanisms to support legislative engagement and sector-wide policy implementation.
