Falana: Health Insurance Now a Legal Right for All Nigerians Under NHIA Act
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has said every Nigerian is now legally entitled to compulsory health insurance following the enactment of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act 2022.
In a statement on Friday, Falana explained that the NHIA Act repealed the 2004 National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) law, which he said failed to achieve meaningful population coverage or unify Nigeria’s fragmented health insurance system.
According to him, the 2022 law marks a “major policy and legal shift toward making universal health coverage a legal and operational reality for all Nigerians.”
The Act mandates the enforcement of a Basic Minimum Package of Care for all citizens, while establishing a Vulnerable Group Fund to subsidise care for children under five, pregnant women, the elderly, the indigent, and persons with physical or mental disabilities.
Falana noted that state governments are also required to establish health insurance schemes or engage third-party administrators pending the rollout of their own programs.
Citing Section 25 of the law, he stressed that health insurance for vulnerable people “shall be fully funded by the government,” while Section 31 mandates contributory enrolment for employees.
“The majority of citizens have become indigent and vulnerable. The federal, state, and local governments should therefore provide adequate funding for the health insurance of all citizens,” he said.
Falana recalled that on September 3, 2025, President Bola Tinubu directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to enrol their staff in the NHIA scheme. The directive also made a valid NHIA-issued Health Insurance Certificate mandatory for public procurement, licensing, and other approvals.
He added that the order empowers the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to enforce compliance, with a digital verification system being developed to curb forgery and enhance transparency.
While welcoming the move, Falana warned that Nigeria is still far from achieving universal health coverage, citing data from the Health Care Providers Association of Nigeria showing that “over 90 per cent of Nigerians remain uncovered by any form of health insurance.”
He attributed this largely to poverty, stressing that the new legal framework must be backed with adequate funding and political will.
Falana further grounded his argument in the Nigerian Constitution, which requires the government to ensure “adequate medical and health facilities for all persons,” and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” for every individual.
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