Abstract
Health financing is crucial for economic productivity and the life expectancy of a
nation’s labor force. However, Nigeria faces numerous economic factors that threaten its healthcare
sector starting from a non-transparent fiscal autonomy leading to a rise in public health expenditure.
This has been a significant threat to the Nigerian healthcare sector. From 2016 to 2021, the increase has
been unhidden, possibly due to health insurgencies and governance issues. Despite this, fiscal allocation
has decreased interest in government health financing, resulting in increased household health
expenditures. This hinged the interest of the study to ascertain the disaggregated healthcare expenditures
that caused life expectancy differentials in Nigeria between 1990 and 2021 finding a mixed integration at
all levels, with life expectancy causing government health expenditure and government health expenditure
causing out-of-pocket health expenditure. The study recommends continuous and increased government
health spending to enhance life expectancy, boost productivity, and prepare Nigeria for sustainable
development by 2030.