Abstract

As epidemiological transitions occur, health priorities expectedly change. In Nigeria, health priorities and investments currently favour the health needs of the young and working population. This overshadows access to healthcare among elderly people as they confront the burden of noncommunicable diseases. To synthesize empirical and theoretical viewpoints (political economy of ageing), the 2015 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data was sourced from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The article identified cohort-specific health problems and disease aetiology. In the context of existing health policies, the article interrogated the role of globalization in disease burden, social contraption, and ethical justifications as situational to health policies. The article concluded that policy coherence is requisite for health care system functioning. To achieve universal health coverage in public health, age-specific disease aetiology and burden of disease patterns should be engaged in priority setting.