HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS AND HEALTH OUTCOMES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Health sector reform in Nigeria was built on the framework of National Economic Empowerment and Development strategy and Millennium Development Goals. It was motivated by the need to enhance human capital through improvement in health. The itching to achieve the MDGs goals and enlist itself among the 20 most industrialized countries of the world come the year 2020 motivated the reform. In this study, we examined the impact of the series of Health Sector Reform on Nigeria’s Health outcomes. The study simply reviewed the elements in the health sector reform and the proceed to examine health indicators and disease profile for Nigeria using data obtained from World Development Indicators CD-ROM, 2014. Available data revealed that Nigerian Health sector is dismal with most of the health indicators being worst for Nigeria and the country bearing a disproportionate burden of diseases. The study found out that Health Sector Reform has not translated into health benefits as post-Reform Health indicators showed. It is cleared that the Reform was implemented within a weak health system and that policy inconsistency and lackadaisical attitudes are among the factors that have hindered effective implementation of Health reforms. It is pertinent that if Nigerian government must translate reforms into health benefits, the efforts must be made to broaden the scope of Health Insurance Scheme and strengthen the Primary Health Care system.