Do national health insurance schemes guarantee financial risk protection in the drive towards Universal Health Coverage in West Africa? A systematic review of observational studies.

To facilitate the drive towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) several countries in West Africa have adopted National Health Insurance (NHI) schemes to finance health services. However, safeguarding insured populations against catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and impoverishment due to health spending still remains a challenge. This study aims to describe the extent of financial risk protection among households enrolled under NHI schemes in West Africa and summarize potential learnings.