The Nigeria UHC Forum has urged political parties and candidates to make universal health coverage (UHC) a central issue in the 2027 elections, with measurable commitments to increased health financing, expanded health insurance and stronger primary healthcare services.

The forum said the elections offered an opportunity to translate existing health policies and agreements into concrete actions that would guarantee Nigerians access to quality, affordable healthcare without financial hardship.

Speaking at a stakeholder policy engagement workshop in Abuja, themed “Leveraging 2027 Election to Advance Nigeria’s UHC Quest,” the forum’s Co-convener, Mrs Moji Makanjuola, said the 2023 elections demonstrated the importance of political engagement in advancing health reforms but stressed the need for sustained advocacy throughout the electoral cycle.

She recalled that the forum’s Citizens-Led Health Agenda, launched ahead of the 2023 elections, helped place health priorities on the political agenda, contributed to their inclusion in the ruling party’s manifesto and informed policy discussions with President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The forum was also recognised in January 2024 as a partner in implementing the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative Compact, she said. However, Makanjuola noted that the forum’s pre-election engagement in 2023 covered only two states and that advocacy weakened after the polls.

“That is the lesson we carry into 2027,” she said, urging stakeholders to develop a broader strategy covering the period before, during and after the elections.

She said the workshop would review the Citizens-Led Health Agenda, identify priority demands for political parties, assess state-level health challenges and develop a civil society roadmap for engagement.

Despite existing frameworks, including the National Health Act, National Health Insurance Authority Act, Basic Health Care Provision Fund and Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, Makanjuola said many Nigerians still paid for healthcare out of pocket, while access and service quality remained uneven across states.

“Let us seize that opportunity to ensure that UHC becomes not just a development aspiration, but a political commitment and a measurable priority for Nigeria,” she said.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Health Sector Reform Coalition, Dr Muhammad Lecky, urged political parties and candidates to focus on implementing existing health sector commitments rather than making new promises without clear delivery plans.

He called for increased health financing, stronger primary healthcare and wider health insurance coverage, adding that effective enforcement of the National Health Insurance Authority Act was essential to achieving universal coverage.

The forum’s Co-convener and Chief Executive Officer of Development Governance International Consult, Dr Gafar Alawode, urged states to prioritise health coverage for poor and vulnerable people and ensure that allocated funds translated into services.

He noted that some states achieved 80 to 90 per cent execution of their health budgets, while others struggled to convert allocations into tangible results.

Alawode urged political parties to include specific health commitments in their manifestos, backed by implementation plans and budgetary provisions. He also identified health taxes as an additional potential source of funding.

He said the forum was reviewing changes in Nigeria’s fiscal and health policy landscape since the 2023 elections to identify priority interventions and guide engagement with political actors at national and state levels, including after the elections.

Representing the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the party’s Deputy National Organising Secretary, Emeka Okafor, said healthcare should be treated as a core governance and national development priority rather than a campaign promise.

Yilwatda said achieving UHC required sustained investment in health financing, expanded insurance coverage, a motivated health workforce, access to essential medicines and stronger health systems, particularly for women, children and vulnerable communities.

He called for a framework to define political commitments, track implementation and measure progress before and after elections, adding that the APC was ready to work with the forum and other stakeholders to advance UHC.

The Vice President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Dr Ayodele Benson, said private healthcare providers could help expand access, particularly in communities where public primary healthcare centres were not functional.

He said the private sector already provided more than 60 per cent of healthcare services in Nigeria and could further support service delivery, supply chains, monitoring and evaluation. Collaboration among government, private providers and civil society, he added, would be critical to improving access to essential services through platforms such as the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

Senior Adviser and Special Regional Representative of the Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Prof. Ahmed Aliko, said strong political will and leadership were essential to achieving UHC.

Citing the establishment of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service in 1945 and Thailand’s adoption of UHC in 2002, he said Nigeria could use its current fiscal and health system challenges as an opportunity to accelerate reforms ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Sector Lead for Health at GIZ and Chair of the Health Development Partners Group, Dr Fatima Zanna, said UHC required not only wider access to healthcare but also resilient systems capable of responding to disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, climate change, non-communicable diseases and future emergencies.

“UHC cannot be delivered by government alone, or by development partners alone. It has to be a Nigeria-owned and -led journey,” she said.