FG pledges better healthcare access for Nigerian youths

• The Nigerian government said it is working to ensure that young people, especially the unemployed, can access healthcare without paying from their own pockets
• A report by the DEAN Initiative, supported by Irish Aid, revealed that most youths in Nigeria lack health insurance, making healthcare unaffordable for many
• To address this, experts and stakeholders are calling for better health financing policies, increased government funding, and stronger partnerships

The federal government has promised to ensure that Nigerian youths are protected from out-of-pocket health spending.Source: OriginalYouths constitute 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population At the Ministry of Youth Development, we are committed to supporting, empowering and protecting young people. That is where all that we are trying to do sits on, he said.For instance, if you empower an artisan to set up a shop, if they then have to spend all their profit and sometimes even their capital on paying for health services, then that doesnt make sense, Ebirim said.Youth ministry ready for partnershipWe must have the audacity to challenge and interrogate existing systems and policies because there will always be a better way to do things.There will always be new and better ways of doing things and we must, at all times be ready to adopt. We are here to look at the things we are doing as it relates to youth involvement in health, to bridge the healthcare needs of our youths at the Primary Health Care level, Michael said.According to Alawode, the nations health financing mechanisms need to be reexamined because the current government health allocations were not enough to meet the countrys health needs.Nigeria spends roughly $10 per person on health, whereas achieving universal health coverage requires about $86 per person.The Abuja Declaration recommends allocating 15 percent of the national budget to health, yet Nigeria spends below five percent. Regarding GDP, countries advancing towards universal coverage allocate around five percent, while Nigeria devotes less than one percent, Alawode said.What DEAN Initiative report recommendsSoludo suspends health worker

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