Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42499471›Full record

ArticleAnnals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine2026

MODELLING TELECOM-DRIVEN HEALTH INSURANCE FINANCING IN NIGERIA: A TECHNO-ECONOMIC NARRATIVE REVIEW.

G A Obute, A I Akyala, S Usen-Obong, S O Samuel, A A Salami, K K Kammodi, E B Okeke

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

G A ObuteGlobal Health and Infectious Disease Control Institute (GHIDI), Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.
A I AkyalaGlobal Health and Infectious Disease Control Institute (GHIDI), Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.
S Usen-ObongGlobal Health and Infectious Disease Control Institute (GHIDI), Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.
S O SamuelGlobal Health and Infectious Disease Control Institute (GHIDI), Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.
A A SalamiOffice of the Executive Director, Cephas Health Research Initiative Inc, Ibadan, Nigeria.
K K KammodiOffice of the Executive Director, Cephas Health Research Initiative Inc, Ibadan, Nigeria.
E B OkekeCentre for Digital Health Research, Innovation and Practice, Cephas Health Research Initiative Inc, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Nigeria's path to Universal Health Coverage is constrained by high out-of-pocket spending and low health-insurance enrolment. Although the National Health Insurance Authority Act of 2022 strengthened the legal basis for coverage, financing and service-delivery gaps remain. With more than 220 million mobile subscriptions, the telecommunications sector offers a practical route for linking digital payments with health-insurance financing. This review examines how telecommunications can support health-insurance financing in Nigeria through a techno-economic lens, highlighting opportunities, barriers, and policy requirements. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted between March and August 2025 using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. English-language publications from 2010 to 2025 focusing on digital health, telecommunications, health financing, and health insurance in Nigeria and comparable low- and middle-income countries were included. Additional evidence from policy documents, regulatory frameworks, institutional reports, and grey literature was integrated. Data were thematically synthesised across five domains: health financing, telecom and fintech infrastructure, techno-economic frameworks, operational models, and governance. Results: The review found that telecom-supported initiatives, including MTN Y'ello Health, Airtel-AXA Mansard, and WellaHealth, show potential to improve enrolment, affordability, premium collection, and claims processing through mobile payment systems. These models may strengthen financial inclusion and administrative efficiency, particularly for informal-sector and underserved populations. However, persistent challenges include poor broadband access, high data costs, regulatory overlap, low public awareness, limited benefit coverage, and uncertain long-term sustainability. Technoeconomic evaluation highlights the need for interoperability, scalability, equity, and sustainable financing. Conclusion: Telecom-driven health insurance can contribute to more equitable coverage in Nigeria if embedded within the national healthfinancing architecture and supported by interoperable data systems, strong consumer protection, affordable benefit design, and inclusive implementation. Adaptive techno-economic evaluation should guide pricing, subsidies, regulation, and scale-up.

Indexed as

Digital health insurancehealth financing;Mobile moneyNigeriauniversal health coverage.

Identifiers

PMID42499471
PMCPMC13399415

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.