Expert launches book on health financing in Nigeria, other developing economies

A public health physician and health economist, Dr Uchenna Ewelike, has launched a book on health financing in Nigeria and other developing economies. Speaking during the launch of the book on Thursday in Abuja, Dr Ewelike said the book, titled ‘Basics of Health Financing in a Developing Economy’ was a product of deep thought on […]

A public health physician and health economist, Dr Uchenna Ewelike, has launched a book on health financing in Nigeria and other developing economies.

Speaking during the launch of the book on Thursday in Abuja, Dr Ewelike said the book, titled ‘Basics of Health Financing in a Developing Economy’ was a product of deep thought on how best to contribute to the society in order to enhance economic growth and development since evidence showed a strong correlation between health and development.

He said: “It is about making a system work to serve its purpose. It is also about responsibilities and results for social inclusiveness, where no one is left unprotected. It is about making a health system resilient so that it can be responsive.”

He said he was inspired to write the book because there was a gap that needed to be filled in health financing in Nigeria and the need for evidence-based information in the drive towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Dr Ewelike who has several years’ experience working on health systems development said the book in its ten chapters has attempted to set a knowledge based agenda on our journey towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) where no one will be left without a prepayment mechanism that guarantees him or her access to quality healthcare.

“With the global emergence of 4Ds in our health systems, crystalizing knowledge on domestic resource for health and the leadership required for efficient utilization has become imperative. This therefore makes the writing of the book timely,” he added.

The health economist enjoined developing countries to be resilient in financing their health sectors saying donors were becoming fatigued.

The author, who is also an Assistant General Manager and Technical Advisor to the Overseeing Director of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), said health is a fundamental human right, and that access to quality healthcare is not in many developing economies including Nigeria. It is also a collective duty for everyone to work towards social health inclusiveness where both the rich and the poor are happy and protected.

He said proceeds from the sale of the book would be used to upgrade two primary healthcare centres; The centre where he was born, and another poorly equipped one in the northern part of the country where he helped a woman took delivery of a children during a work tour.

Former Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, who wrote the foreword of the book said developing countries who are more at risk of not achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the target date and also lack needed expertise to translate political will to operational guidelines are in dire need of technical support to build capacity.

He said that a critical area where the expertise is lacking is health financing, adding that building knowledge and skill capacity required trained authors and accessible knowledge products, and that Dr Ewelike’s book has provided both requirements.

The former minister said health policy makers, planning and budget officials, legislators, health maintenance organisation, health providers, medical and health practitioners and students in various health institutions would find the book educative and invaluable.

“Those occupying and those aspiring to leadership positions in the health sector would find the bonus chapter on leadership in the health sector greatly enriching. So I join others to commend Dr Uchenna Ewelike for helping to fill a yawning gap in the availability of literature on health financing that address the peculiar needs of developing countries,” he added.