Research on Strategic Purchasing in Nigeria

Timeline: 2022 – September 2022 | Status: Completed

Nigeria

Project Overview

Achieving Universal Health Coverage requires not only mobilising resources for health but also ensuring that available funds are used effectively. Strategic purchasing has emerged as a key health financing function that helps governments and health purchasers direct resources toward services that deliver the greatest value and health impact.

In 2022, the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), implemented the Research on Strategic Purchasing in Nigeria project. The initiative sought to generate evidence on how health financing resources are allocated, managed, and used within the Nigerian health system, and to identify opportunities for strengthening purchasing arrangements.

Strategic purchasing focuses on making deliberate decisions about what health services should be purchased, from whom, for whom, and how providers should be paid. By improving these decisions, health systems can increase efficiency, improve service quality, and expand access to essential healthcare services.

The research contributed to national discussions on health financing reform and provided insights that could support stronger purchasing mechanisms within Nigeria's evolving healthcare financing landscape.

Many health systems struggle to ensure that available resources translate into optimal health outcomes. Traditional financing arrangements often allocate funds based on historical budgets rather than performance, population needs, or service quality.

As Nigeria continues to strengthen health insurance schemes, primary healthcare financing mechanisms, and broader health financing reforms, there is a growing need to understand how purchasing decisions influence efficiency, accountability, and service delivery performance.

Evidence on strategic purchasing can help policymakers design financing systems that incentivise better performance and improve value for money.

HSDF applied its expertise in health financing, policy analysis, and health systems research to examine purchasing arrangements and identify opportunities for improvement. The project focused on:

Analysing existing health purchasing mechanisms in Nigeria.
Examining how resources are allocated and used within the health system.
Identifying opportunities to strengthen efficiency and accountability.
Generating evidence to inform health financing reforms.
Supporting policy dialogue on strategic purchasing approaches.
Contributing to discussions on Universal Health Coverage and sustainable health financing.

The research combined technical analysis with practical policy considerations to ensure findings were relevant to decision-makers and stakeholders.

The project contributed to a stronger understanding of how strategic purchasing can improve the performance of health financing systems. By examining the relationship between financing arrangements, provider incentives, and service delivery outcomes, the research provided insights that can support more effective use of limited health resources.

As Nigeria continues to pursue Universal Health Coverage, evidence from this work helps inform efforts to build financing systems that are more efficient, equitable, and responsive to the health needs of the population.