Health insurance coverage in Nigeria has historically been low, with less than 5 percent of Nigeria's over 200 million people being covered by private and public health insurance. This is not unprecedented as financing healthcare through health insurance accounts for about 1.9 percent of total current health spending, which is a far cry from the average shares of 26 percent and 18 percent in high income and upper-middle-income countries, respectively. In 2021, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act was introduced, making health insurance
mandatory for all citizens and legal Nigerian residents. However, using compulsion alone to increase the uptake of healthcare insurance might not guarantee the expected outcome.