Benue State University, Makurdi

Out of Pocket Health Spending and Poverty Level in Nigeria

AGBATOGUN, Kehinde Kabir (Ph.D), ALABI, Adesola Olalere (M.Sc.)* LAWAL, Nurudeen Abiodun (Ph.D), OSINUSI, Kunle Bankole (Ph.D)

Abstract

This study investigated out-of-pocket health spending and poverty level in Nigeria from 1980 to 2022. The study used secondary data and variables used are percentage of out-ofpocket health spending, poverty rate, per capita income and gini index which were sourced from World Bank Database, CBN Statistical Bulletin and World Health Organization. Data were analyzed using Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model. The results show a positive relationship between poverty rate, gini index in Nigeria and percentage of out-ofpocket health spending which implies that a percentage increase in out of pocket spending and gini index in Nigeria brings about 0.4543 and 2.0605 percentage increase in poverty rate in Nigeria. This implies that when out of pocket spending and gini index increases, poverty rate also increases and the result equally shows a negative relationship between per capita income and poverty rate in Nigeria. This implies that a percentage increase in poverty rate reduces per capita income by 0.2491 percent and vice versa. The study concluded that high level of out-of-pocket health spending in Nigeria poses a substantial financial burden on households, especially those with lower incomes. The study recommended that strategic investments in healthcare infrastructure and the implementation of comprehensive health insurance schemes can help mitigate the financial burden on households and foster a more inclusive and sustainable healthcare system. Government should design and implement health insurance programs that specifically target low-income individuals and families.

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