Abstract for: Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria Health Sector

According to the World Health Organization, universal health coverage states that all persons should have access to the required health services of sufficient quality without financial hardship. [1]. Nigeria, in accordance with the universal health coverage (UHC), created the National Health Insurance Scheme which covers the health care of employees in the formal sector by pooled funds from the employee and employers. However, since the inception, less than 10% of Nigerians have health insurance [1], leaving a majority of the informal sector and state workers exposed to out-of-pocket payment. Achieving universal health coverage as described by the World Health Organization is represented in a multidimensional concept [2]. The dimensions are expressed as population for all, equal access to quality health care, and affordability (reducing out-of-pocket expenditures). The study created a model that employs the three dimensions of universal health coverage – population covered, cost covered, and services covered to develop a systematic conceptualization that explains the cause and effect relationship amongst the identified variables