On March 15, 2022, Belinda Archibong, assistant professor of economics, published a new paper in The Lancet, alongside several co-authors. The paper, titled “The Lancet Nigeria Commission: Investing in health and the future of the nation,” examines how to deliver equitable and optimal health outcomes in Nigeria.
The researchers focused on Nigeria’s toughest challenges — a complex political structure, weak governance, poor accountability, inefficiency, and corruption — to show that the country has the potential to improve population health by using a multisector whole-of-government approach. They also note possible obstacles to this course of action, such as ineffective use of available resources, a dearth of robust population-level health and mortality data, insufficient financing for health and healthcare, suboptimal deployment of available health funding to purchase health services, and large population inequities. Overall, the Commission aims to reposition future health policy in Nigeria to achieve universal health coverage and better health for all.