*Initiative targets evidence-based healthcare decisions as stakeholders examine gaps in financing research, policy, implementation
James Emejo in Abuja
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), will today convene stakeholders for the inaugural Nigeria Health Financing Research & Learning Forum, as the country seeks to strengthen locally generated evidence for health financing decisions.
The two-day forum, holding from September 28 to 29, is being organised in collaboration with the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), Nigeria Health Watch and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.
The forum, themed, “Evidence and Learning for Nigeria’s Health Financing Future: Building a Locally Led Research and Learning Ecosystem,” is expected to bring together policymakers, researchers, healthcare practitioners and development partners to examine how locally generated evidence can better shape health financing policies and improve healthcare outcomes.
At the centre of the meeting is the push to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to define its own health financing research priorities, generate credible evidence and apply findings more effectively to national policy and healthcare delivery.
The initiative comes amid ongoing reforms aimed at expanding health insurance coverage, improving financial protection and ensuring that available resources produce greater value across the health system.
For the NHIA, efforts to institutionalise evidence-based decision-making have already gained momentum with the establishment in 2025 of its Strategic Purchasing Department, including a dedicated Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Division.
The Authority has subsequently developed HTA tools and processes, strengthened specialised technical capacity and generated local evidence through the Nigerian EQ-5D-5L valuation study.
It has also undertaken pilot assessments covering kidney replacement therapy, colorectal cancer screening and sorafenib for advanced liver cancer.
The developments are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to assess the value, effectiveness and affordability of medicines, treatments, technologies and health services within the country’s own healthcare and economic context.
Health financing decisions determine, among other things, which services and technologies are covered, how healthcare is purchased and how scarce resources are allocated.
The organisers said stronger domestic evidence would therefore help policymakers identify interventions that deliver better value, address gaps in healthcare coverage and improve the allocation of available resources.
The implications are expected to extend to patients, with better evidence potentially informing more responsive benefit packages, purchasing decisions and treatment choices.
The forum will consequently focus not only on generating research but also on strengthening the link between evidence, policymaking, implementation and measurable results.
NHIA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, is among the key speakers expected at the forum, alongside health financing experts including Professor Chima Onoka, Professor Tanimola Akande, Dr. Olalekan Makinde and Dr. Kurfi Abubakar Muhammad.
The gathering is also expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to identify gaps in existing evidence, assess what is working and establish stronger collaboration among researchers, policymakers and healthcare practitioners.
A key objective is to develop a sustainable, locally led research and learning ecosystem capable of strengthening Nigerian institutions and researchers while ensuring that research priorities are increasingly driven by the country’s health challenges and policy needs.
The organisers acknowledged the continuing importance of international research, expertise and partnerships, but stressed the need for stronger domestic capacity to generate and interpret evidence relevant to Nigeria’s specific circumstances.
The forum is therefore expected to advance discussions on how Nigerian researchers and institutions can play a greater role in producing the evidence required to guide health financing reforms.
Ultimately, the organisers said the initiative seeks to strengthen a culture of evidence-led health financing in Nigeria, enabling the country to generate the knowledge it needs, build the expertise to interpret it and translate research findings into decisions that improve access to quality healthcare.