The Sustainable Development Goal 3 target 8 – Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by the year 2030 (UNDP) has galvanized the Bauchi State Government to establish the Bauchi State Health Contributory Management Agency (BASHCMA). The Federal Government through the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) also supported the decentralization of the scheme through a memo initiated at the 58th National Council of Health (NCH) in 2015.

The health financing landscape of Bauchi State over the years has passed through various challenges. The State’s health system is largely financed by Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE), exposing Bauchi state residents to catastrophic and impoverishing health expenditures. In contrast, Government health expenditures are low and the General Government Health Expenditures as a percentage of Gross Government Expenditures has been at an average of 9.6%[1]over the last 5 years (2017 and 2018 data not available). Bauchi State receives some official development assistance; however, these are largely used to fund vertical health programs. Overall, the financing of the health system is fragmented and regressive, hence the timely formation of BASHCMA to govern and provide the leadership, direction, oversight and regulation of healthcare insurance in Bauchi State.      

To guarantee the achievement of its mandates, BASHCMA has developed its Operational Guideline and Health Benefit Package, secured take-off grants, received staff from the State Ministry of Health (SMOH), and instituted operational structures for the implementation of the scheme. Part of its effort towards achieving success and the delivery of its objectives is dependent on clearly analyzing its internal and external milieu, setting the right priorities, transforming these priorities into workable plans while maximizing the use of available scarce resource.