Legislative Coalitions as Tools of National Development: A Study of the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria

Abstract

The study was undertaken to evaluate how legislative coalitions can act as catalysts in sustainable national development to improve outcomes of public sector operations, particularly access to affordable, quality healthcare. In this regard, it evaluates the experience of the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage (LNU) in Nigeria and important actions that legislators in a coalition as a pressure mechanism can undertake to ensure that the objectives of national development are achieved. It employs the descriptive survey design to evaluate three objectives: the importance of legislative coalitions as effective mechanisms through which national development can be achieved; the impact of the LNU on health sector performance; and the LNU as a Legislative coalition pressure mechanism to influence universal access to healthcare provision and health outcomes. The timeframe is five years, from September 2014 to November 2019. Qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were employed. The population of the study is the health and finance sector, with a derived sample size of the heads of agencies in the sector. Analysis was by simple percentage, based on 81 percent response rate and empirical findings revealed an average of 89 percent affirmation across the three objectives providing evidence that legislative coalitions can catalyse national development; health sector performance has progressed in the last two years of the study as a result of the LNU, and that through the LNU, access to universal, affordable and quality healthcare can be achieved. The results derived from the analysis of the data make a good case for the establishment and involvement of legislative coalitions to accelerate the achievement of national development objectives.