Micro Health Insurance and Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria: Empirical Evidence from Lagos State

Abstract

The challenge of poverty pervades all economies of the world, though in varying degrees.The challenge is however more serious for a developing economy like Nigeria with her huge population currently estimated at over 170 million.To overcome this challenge and achieve some of the millennium development goals (MDGs), various options must be evaluated.This study therefore evaluates the potentials of micro health insurance in solving the poverty challenge in Nigeria.The study argued that poor health status of individuals limit their production capacity and hence may force them to sell their valuables in order to meet health care and other basic household needs. Using a survey research design, data was collected from 150 randomly selected low income earners in Lagos State, Nigeria through a structured questionnaire administered by the researchers.The collected data was subjected to descriptive statistics, reliability test, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analysis to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables, and the explanatory power of the independent variables on the dependant variable. The results suggest that micro health insurance can be used as a strategy for improving the living condition of the poor through the elimination of catastrophic health expenditures that could otherwise cripple their earning capacity.Based on the result, it is recommended that various enlightenment programmes should be employed by stakeholders in the insurance industry to popularise the benefits of micro health insurance among low income earners.