By Peace Udugba
Nigeria’s former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has called for innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms to strengthen healthcare systems across Africa, stressing that government funding alone is insufficient to meet the continent’s growing healthcare needs.
Osinbajo made the call at a high-level roundtable on Innovative Financing Models for Africa’s Healthcare Systems, organised by Future Perspectives, an initiative he founded, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, in Lagos on June 10, 2026.
The hybrid event brought together senior government officials, development finance institutions, investors, financial institutions, capital market leaders and healthcare executives to explore practical solutions to Nigeria’s persistent healthcare financing challenges.
Speaking at the opening session, Osinbajo noted that healthcare systems require sustainable financing beyond public spending.
“We need innovative mechanisms to finance healthcare systems. Government spending alone can never address the scale of the challenge, while most Nigerians continue to rely on out-of-pocket payments,” he said.
According to him, the objective of the roundtable was to identify practical and sustainable financing models capable of improving access to quality healthcare across the country.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, revealed that only between 10 and 12 per cent of Nigerians currently have health insurance coverage.
He said government was working with development finance institutions, including Afreximbank and the European Investment Bank, to unlock billions of dollars in investments for the healthcare sector.
Mukhtar, however, pointed to a significant financing gap affecting small and medium-sized healthcare providers.
“There is a missing middle. Many businesses require just $2 million to $5 million to expand, but struggle to access capital,” he said.
Representing the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Dr. Tolulope Adewole, Managing Director of MedServe, said affordability remained one of the biggest barriers to healthcare access.
He explained that collaboration among stakeholders would be critical to attracting long-term investments into sustainable healthcare projects.
Also speaking, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AfyA Care, Dapo Akisanya, said healthcare should be viewed as a profitable and scalable investment sector.
He advocated increased impact investing and blended finance to support growth across the healthcare value chain.
Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, maintained that private sector investment remains indispensable, noting that government funding alone cannot meet the sector’s financial demands.
According to him, healthcare requires patient, long-term financing best supported through the capital market.
Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Chishamiso Mawoyo, highlighted the importance of local currency financing, noting that healthcare providers primarily serve local populations and therefore require financing structures that reflect local economic realities.
Deputy Director at the Gates Foundation, Ekenem Isichei, stressed that healthcare financing must ultimately improve lives.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that investments translate into measurable health outcomes, adding that philanthropy should serve as a catalyst for unlocking greater private capital through blended financing.
Senior Health Financing Specialist at the World Bank, Dr. Olumide Okunola, underscored the need for stronger public financing while advocating measures to reduce Nigerians’ dependence on out-of-pocket healthcare spending.
Closing the session, Co-Founder of Future Perspectives, Yemi Asekun, said the dialogue would be translated into practical financing models, including the development of a potential national healthcare investment platform.
The roundtable was moderated by Serah Makka, Executive Director for Africa at ONE and a member of the Future Perspectives Board.
Other board members present included Ambassador Adeyinka Asekun, immediate past Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada; Maryamu Aminu of Iron Capital Partners Ltd; and Dr. Greg Jobome, former Executive Director and Chief Risk Officer at Access Bank.
Participants at the event also included representatives from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN), Coronation Capital, Africa Capital Alliance, Wema Bank, FirstBank, Access Bank, Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Evercare, Leadway Holdings, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Johnson & Johnson, Lily Hospital, DLM Capital Group and several other organisations across the healthcare and financial sectors.
