This article is a part of the Invest with Women: Strategies to Accelerate Progress series.

Affordable, quality healthcare in Nigeria is not always accessible to women or responsive to their needs. Whether due to (i) social norms that limit women’s agency to make independent decisions on spending, (ii) price gouging that is rampant where product pricing is not transparent, (iii) lack of payment flexibility for big-ticket expenses, or (iv) limited access to savings to address health care emergencies—if the health system accommodated more digital payments, women would be better positioned to get the healthcare they require.  

Our work with Visa explored these dynamics to more explicitly understand how the broader effort in Nigeria to digitize the economy could impact women’s health. Our analysis indicated that implementing digital payment systems could yield substantial advantages for patients, healthcare providers, and governments. This was particularly effective when complemented by efforts to promote financial inclusion and literacy tailored to individuals without access to traditional banking services or with limited access. 

“The connections between digital payment systems and the impact on healthcare access we uncovered in Nigeria don’t just hold for one country—we believe that investing in the infrastructure to support the digitization of payments in the health sector would have benefits for women across Africa.” 

Laura Herman
Partner, Dalberg Advisors 

Contact: laura.herman@dalberg.com 

Read more: How Digital Healthcare Payments Can Drive Access and Affordability in Nigeria