Strategic Purchasing African Resource Centre (SPARC) hosted a delegation of general managers from Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for a three-day study tour to share experience on how the Kenyan Government is working towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC), with lessons from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) reforms, and explore future partnerships. The […]
Improving the Efficiency of Resource Allocation for Covid-19 Response in Imo State – The Role of Strategic Purchasing
Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in wide scale social and economic implications and has had a huge impact on people’s lives, families and communities [1]. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, countries have reconfigured their systems to provide required services to contain the pandemic, deploying preventive equipment, testing services, intensive care units (ICU) beds, […]
Evaluating Strategic Health Purchasing Functions in Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency of Resources Allocated for COVID-19 Response in Abia State
Introduction Abia state was free of COVID-19 until March 29, 2020, when two sick persons tested positive for the virus. The effect of the pandemic on the physical, social and economic well-being of Abians is evident. There was a decrease in workforce participation across all sectors due to job losses followed by an economic crisis […]
Incidence and Case Fatality Rate for COVID-19 in Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria: An opportunity to Make the Right Investment and Improve Strategic Health Purchasing in the Health Sector
A novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) known to be responsible for an infectious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified and reported from Wuhan city of China in December, 2019 [1]. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious, spreading globally in a very short period of time, and was declared a global pandemic by […]
Towards Strategic Health Purchasing for UHC: Recognizing and Mitigating the Consequences of Multiple and Mixed Provider Payment Mechanisms in Abia State
Background Although public health expenditure is low in Nigeria, healthcare purchasing has been predominantly passive and inefficient, meaning that limited resources are wasted (Etiaba et al., 2018). Recent health financing reforms in Nigeria recognize the critical roles of State governments and related agencies in defining, implementing and managing healthcare purchasing functions within decentralized health financing […]
COVID-19 Response In Nigeria: Where is the Accountability and How Strategic is the Purchasing of Health Services?
October 27, 2020 Health is a fundamental human right; thus, access to this basic right of an individual should be protected and guaranteed to citizens of all nations irrespective of the prevailing circumstances. However, the greatest challenge to this right of the citizens is the financial resource constraints in achieving unhindered access to quality healthcare […]
What Factors Hinder Progress Towards Strategic Purchasing for Healthcare in Imo state, South East Nigeria?
As part of the global agenda to achieve access to efficient, equitable, affordable and quality healthcare to the population, countries have committed to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Strategic health purchasing (SHP), as a core function of healthcare financing, is critical to achieving UHC, linking resource mobilisation to pooling, ensuring efficient and equitable delivery of […]
Assurance maladie sociale et achats stratégiques de soins de santé au Nigeria
Les Nigérians sont environ 4,3 % à être inscrits dans l’un ou l’autre des régimes d’assurance maladie sociale. La Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie (NHIS) est la structure responsable de l’assurance maladie sociale. Elle a pour principale fonction d’établir des directives et des normes pour les programmes d’assurance maladie sociale dans le pays. La NHIS assure […]
Social Health Insurance and Strategic Health Purchasing in Nigeria
Social Health Insurance and Strategic Health Purchasing in Nigeria In Nigeria, there are about 4.3% of Nigerians registered in one form of social health insurance programme or the other. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is the agency responsible for social health insurance. It provides the primary purchasing function of setting guidelines and standards for the social […]
Les Enseignements Pour L’afrique Face À La Pandémie Mondiale Du Coronavirus
Le nouveau coronavirus, appelé COVID-19, a créé une urgence sanitaire mondiale sans précédent. Plusieurs pays africains ont pris diverses mesures pour prévenir la propagation du coronavirus et atténuer son impact sur les moyens de subsistance et leurs économies en général. Au point culminant de la pandémie, des pays tels que le Rwanda et l’Ouganda, et […]