Enhancing Healthcare Access and Affordability in Nigeria through Health Insurance: The Role of Generic Drug Utilisation

Abstract

Healthcare accessibility is a global issue, with many facing financial barriers that hinder access to timely and affordable health  services, leading to delayed treatments, worsened health conditions, and reduced quality of life. Financial barriers are prevalent  in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria and the African continent, due to inadequate financing mechanisms, and  globally, expenditure on drugs is one of the fastest-growing components of healthcare spending. 

Health insurance is a key healthcare financing strategy to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability: bridging the gap,  providing financial protection, removing barriers, and improving healthcare utilisation. Health insurance promotes the use of generic drugs as a cost-minimizing approach to reduce fiscal burdens, improve healthcare affordability and accessibility. Generic drugs are pharmaceutical products bioequivalent to brand-name medications in terms of active ingredients, dosage  forms, strengths, and administration routes, but sold at lower prices. Hence, improving affordable access to care. Despite the benefits of generic drugs, they face challenges in adoption, particularly among patients, healthcare providers, and  policymakers: ranging from low awareness, misconceptions about quality and regulatory issues. However, this can be tackled  through education, policy formulations and strengthening regulatory functions. 

As the nation takes steps towards universal health coverage, the roles of health insurance and the use of generic medicines are  essential and cannot be overemphasised. Thus, it is of paramount importance to create the right frameworks for the adoption of  health insurance and generic medicine utilisation.