NIGERIA – The new Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr. Salma Anas- Ibrahim, has hosted the National Healthy Ageing Summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
The summit in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), underscored the need to improve the health care of Nigeria’s senior citizens as the prevalence of non-communicable diseases persists.
The National Healthy Ageing Summit under the theme “Decade of healthy ageing in Nigeria: Situation, challenges, and transformative pathway,” reiterated the need for Nigerian society to better serve its elderly and vulnerable population better.
The two days summit is to promote effective actions, foster multi-sectoral partnerships and advocate for measures to ensure that healthy ageing remains a top priority in the national and subnational agenda towards the attainment of the UN Decade of healthy ageing 2020-2030.
According to Dr. Anas-Ibrahim, the Federal government has designated that no one will be left behind in achieving universal health coverage in the country as the country seeks to enrol 50 million people under healthcare coverage by 2027.
“As I’m speaking to you today as a special adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want to reiterate to you that this is a critical stage in our lifetime in Nigeria, as we are transitioning to a new government of renewed hope and a renewed hope for health,” Dr Anas- Ibrahim noted.
She also highlighted that the President was committed to ensuring that Nigeria met and realised universal health care coverage, which also involves the health of the elderly people.
Also speaking, the Director General of the National Senior Citizens Centre, Dr Emem Omokaro reported, “In Nigeria, disaggregated data from the Nigeria Living Standard Survey 2019 indicate a population of 14.8 million for older persons with a population growth rate of 2.8 per cent.”
The Director General also noted that In spite of its young pyramid-structured population by 2050, Nigeria will be home to 29.8 million older persons.
“One of the implications of a growing ageing population is the considerable and likely growing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases, chronic conditions, and functional impairment among the older persons, substantially expanding the need for Long Term Care,” Omokaro said.
She noted that the aged are a critical component of the vulnerable group and will access quality health care services that cover all vulnerable groups including women and children, and also the physically challenged people.
She added that the ‘Renewed Hope Health’ agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was committed to covering over 50 million Nigerians, most of them vulnerable, including the elderly people, the aged people, within the next four years.
Speaking at the summit, The Permanent Secretary, the Federal Ministry of Health Ms. Kachollom Shangti Daju, said Nigeria is undergoing a demographic transition, with an increasing proportion of older persons in the population.
“According to the 2018 National Population Commission report, there are about 9.6 million Nigerians aged 60 years and above, representing 5% of the total population, this number is projected to rise to 20 million by 2030 and 44 million by 2050,” said the PS.
The World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, said the desired goal of leaving no one behind was achievable with the determination of all critical stakeholders.
“WHO alongside other UN experts, civil society and the health professions have continued to support the government of Nigeria’s efforts to discuss the five strategic objectives of the Global Strategy and Action plan on Ageing and Health while noting the progress and challenges in their realization,” mentioned Dr. Mulombo.
He added that the strategy was at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as ageing issues cut across the 17 goals, especially Goal 3 which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all at all ages.”
The WHO Country Representative urged Nigerian Government to continue to exercise leadership and increased investment in human capital development to further strengthen partnerships and prioritise the Decade of Healthy Ageing by focusing on improved engagement with older people.
Nigeria striving for UHC by 2030: a realistic or a pipe dream?
The Global Health Journal in a June 2023 publication indicated that the majority of Nigeria’s population lived in poverty, more so severe with the persons aged above 60 years who have limited access to social services such as health care services.
Moreover, in line with the global commitment towards universal health coverage (UHC), Nigeria is making a push to reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure and improve the breadth of access and the quality of health services by increasing the population covered, services covered and proportion of costs covered.
The report adds that the major challenges in the Nigerian health system are multifaceted and interconnected and OOP expenditure represents about 75% of total health spending in the country.
In addition to this, less than 5% of the population has any form of health insurance coverage, and there was a very high risk of impoverishment due to health expenses.
Moreover, the country has an increasingly growing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which have been estimated to account for 29% of deaths in Nigeria in 2016.
Despite considerable efforts, progress towards UHC targets in Nigeria has been slow.
The low levels of public health financing and high reliance on external support are concerning given the impending donor transitions and reductions in concessional external financing for health.
The 2022 Lancet Nigeria Commission highlights the value of adequate investments in health as Nigeria undergoes key transitions.
It provides compelling evidence of the need for a “new social contract”1 between the people and the state.
This contract is crucial for the implementation of the National Health Act (NHA), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, and national strategies and plans for health.
According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, only 3% of people aged 15–49 years have a form of health insurance coverage.
The state should move progressively from commitment to action as available legal reforms provide new tools to address the unmet needs of the people and the Health Ageing Summit is a good effort.
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