Nigeria seeks domestic funding via pension funds and health taxes

Stakeholders in Nigeria are advocating for diversified domestic funding to address a growing healthcare financing gap and the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

At a roundtable organized by HealthCap Africa, experts urged pension fund managers to treat healthcare as an asset class. With foreign assistance from organizations like USAID declining, there is a push for pension funds—which collectively manage over $5 billion in assets—to invest in healthcare infrastructure. Participants called on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Pension Commission to develop investment products that allow for participation in the sector while protecting contributor savings.

Simultaneously, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is pushing for health tax reforms to secure sustainable financing. Director-General Kelechi Ohiri emphasized that health taxes serve a dual purpose: disease prevention and domestic resource mobilization. This follows the Senate’s passage of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax Bill, which aims to channel revenues directly into health promotion and primary healthcare. The reforms seek to address the intersection of fiscal policy and public health to mitigate the impact of NCDs.