Lara Adejoro The World Bank in its latest report has revealed that public expenditure on education and health in Nigeria is inadequate by any standard. The report titled, ‘Human Capital Public Expenditure and Institutional Review’ is an analysis of financing and governance constraints for the delivery of basic education and primary health care in Nigeria. The report obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday noted that the overall public spending was merely 12 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and fell short of the threshold necessary to underwrite fundamental public services.
The report stated, “This compares to the Sub-Saharan African average of 17.2 per cent and the lower middle-income countries average of 18.5 per cent.
Over the past five years, Nigeria’s health and education expenditure has fluctuated between 10 and 12 per cent of GDP. “When measured against international standards, it becomes evident that this level of investment is insufficient for delivering adequate essential public services. As a result, a large proportion of spending, especially health spending, is out of pocket, which excludes a significant segment of society from accessing health services.
“At $23 and $15 per capita, public expenditure on education and health in Nigeria, respectively is inadequate by any standard. Of the $23 per capita spending on education, states spend $14 and the remainder is spent by the Federal Government. Similarly, of the $15 per capita spending on health,.