Improving Outcomes in the Nigeria Healthcare Sector through Public- Private Partnership

Abstract

Nigeria’s healthcare sector over the years has continued to degenerate with health indicators currently below national targets and internationally set benchmarks. Budgetary allocations to the sector have remained far below the World Health Organization (WHO) and African Union (AU) recommendations of 11% and 15%, respectively, of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dedicated to the health sector. The poor healthcare system has led to loss of confidence resulting in frustrations and unbearable consequences for the poor and low income segment of the society whereas, top government officials and the affluent resort to outbound medical tourism. Using a qualitative research methodology that focuses on descriptive analysis, the paper reviews health system performance in Nigeria in line with the achievement of United Nations health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) and targets. The paper recommends for institutionalization of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in the Country’s healthcare sector. Public - Private Interaction offers opportunity of leveraging private sector investment in the sector and further enhances improvements in service delivery as well as increases access to quality healthcare. The paper contributes to current scholarly discussions on improving outcomes in healthcare delivery system and the curbing of excessive foreign medical tourism which is found to deplete the country’s foreign reserves.

Key words: Nigeria, Healthcare Sector, Health Outcomes, Health Indicators, Public-Private Partnership