Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it has disbursed over over N83.9 billion in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners in the country.

CBN told Confiance News in a statement on Friday.

“We disbursed over N83.9 billion in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners, which is supporting 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country,” the statement revealed.

The statement which was made by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele at a movie launch titled: “UNMASKED”, a feature documentary on leadership, trust and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, highlighted the need to improve access to healthcare for all Nigerians.

The CBN Governor noted that high cost of healthcare has impeded access to healthcare for Nigerians.

Butressing, Emefiele cited a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) which showed that only 4 percent of Nigerians have access to health insurance.

He noted that expanding the insurance net is a major step in addressing the healthcare accessibility challenge in the country, and can be achieved with the help of the private sector.

“The private sector has a significant role to play in this regard given the decline in government revenues as occasioned by the drop in commodity prices. Leveraging innovative solutions that can provide insurance services at relatively cheap prices could significantly help to improve access to healthcare for a large proportion of Nigerians particularly those in our rural communities,” he stated.

Emefiele also noted that supporting research and development in healthcare is another way to tackle Nigeria’s healthcare crisis.

He stressed the need for collaboration between government and the private sector, while citing the role of CBN in improving access to healthcare and relief during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic through the CACOVID Alliance.

However, Emefiele was represented by Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, acting Director, Corporate Communications at the event which had dignitaries such as Ms Kadaria Ahmed, a renowned journalist, and Co-producer of the movie in attendance.

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