Improving health insurance take-up among informal workers: evidence from Nigeria

Health insurance is a critical tool for managing healthcare costs and reducing economic vulnerability, yet informal sector workers—who constitute a large portion of the workforce in developing economies—often face significant barriers to accessing such coverage. This project aims to explore the barriers to health insurance enrollment among informal sector workers in Nigeria and test interventions to overcome these challenges. The study will investigate factors that deter participation in health insurance schemes. One potential solution involves using mobile money to reduce transaction costs associated with insurance payments. The project, in collaboration with Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), will conduct qualitative research whose findings will inform the development of a full-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of the proposed interventions. The results will provide actionable insights for policymakers in Nigeria and other countries facing similar challenges in expanding health insurance coverage among informal workers.