Catastrophic health expenditure as a result of health shocks: challenge to universal health coverage In Nigeria

Abstract

Health shocks coping mechanisms provide important information on how households respond to health shocks and how payment may affect their future welfare. Health spending ratio to household expenditure, can state if there is threat to consumption especially if the out-of-pocket (OOP) payments is followed by catastrophic or impoverishment consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO) has re – affirmed that when people suffer financial hardship due to OOP, it is impossible to get closer to Universal health coverage (UHC). During health shocks, informal coping mechanisms can be employed by households to mitigate cost of illness especially in low- and middle-income countries including Nigeria where there is poor financial protection. It has been proven that this can have implications for both transient poverty and long-term poverty traps. Health shocks may adversely influence household financial burden, increase hardship, affect ability to contribute to positive child health and education outcome which is a dire consequence of high reliance of OOP payment, it also further widens the intergenerational equality which UHC tends to preach against. Catastrophic Health Expenditures as a result of OOP payment when health shocks occur is an enormous challenge to achieving UHC. It is therefore more urgent than ever for the Nigerian Government to create innovative ways to increase financial protection, intensify implementation of health policies for all its citizens irrespective of social class, age, gender or area of residence and draw lessons from other countries who have achieved or near achieve UHC.Keywords: Catastrophic Health Expenditures, Universal Health CoverageSavannah Journal of Medical Research and Practice 2018;7(1):01- 06