Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has called on Nigerians in the diaspora and private sector players to support government efforts to build a sustainable health financing system.
Prof. Pate said billions of dollars in diaspora remittances could be more productively channelled into paying health insurance premiums for families back home, instead of being limited to emergency support.
He explained that government reforms were aligning ministries, departments, and agencies with the private sector to advance both economic growth and financial protection. According to him, a healthier workforce benefits businesses and the wider economy.
The minister disclosed that Nigeria targets enrolling at least 44 million citizens under health insurance by 2030, a move that would make the country’s risk pool the largest in Africa. He added that the expansion of the Vulnerables Fund and free emergency obstetric services have already saved many women from preventable deaths.
The minister further revealed that new excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages were being developed, describing them as a “double win” for public health and fiscal revenue.
He stressed that investing in prevention, through nutrition, sanitation, and health promotion, was essential to tackling rising cases of non-communicable diseases.
