GE, Fidson, PharmAccess, Emzor, others back HFN 2023 Annual Conference

Fidson Healthcare, General Electric, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industry Company, AfyACare Nigeria Limited, PharmAccess Foundation, and Lotus Bank are among the companies that have thrown the weight of their support behind the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) 2023 Annual General Conference holding February 3 and 4 in Lagos.

Other sponsors include Intercontinental Distillers Limited, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Leadway Assurance Company, Leadway Health Limited, HMCAM, Aiico Multishield HMO, Lagoon Hospital, Mr Asue Ighodalo (Chairman, HFN Board of Trustees), Avon Healthcare Ltd, Afrilife Healthcare Services LTD, Lakeshore Cancer Centre, Evercare Hospital, and Medplus Pharmacy.

A breakdown of the sponsors’ list shows that Fidson Healthcare, General Electric, AfyACare Nigeria Limited, and Lotus Bank PLC are session co-sponsors.

Similarly, Intercontinental Distillers Limited is a Silver Sponsor, while NSIA, Leadway Assurance Company, and PharmAccess Foundation are Bronze Sponsors.

Leadway Health Limited, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industry Company, HMCAM, Aiico Multishield HMO, Lagoon Hospital, and Mr Asue Ighodalo are classified in the Premium Exhibition Stand category, while Avon Healthcare Ltd, Afrilife Healthcare Services LTD, Lakeshore Cancer Centre, Evercare Hospital, and Medplus Pharmacy come under Standard Exhibition Stand.

The HFN 2023 Annual Conference, themed “Building the Healthcare of Our Future”, comes up at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos and is expected to address diverse issues affecting and limiting the growth of the health sector in Nigeria, from financing and investment to implementation of the New NHIA and its implications for HMOs, providers and employers, among others.

The conference will also provide an excellent opportunity for healthcare professionals, private healthcare providers, HMOs, health equipment manufacturers and healthcare sector investors to meet and network with other industry players.

A draft programme released by HFN shows that the conference will feature panel sessions on “Fiscal Policy: HS Codes Reform, Duty Exemptions, and AfCFTA. Is Healthcare Important Enough?”, “Investment, Healthcare Financing and Monetary Policy Issues”, “Pharmaceutical Sector Issues: From Local Manufacturing, Research and Development, to Drug-Revolving Schemes”, “Implementing the New NHIA: Implications of HMOs, Providers and Employers”, and “The Diaspora Dialogue: Addressing the Human Resource Crisis Structures, Systems and Technology”, and a special session on “Women in Leadership Series (Launching the HFN Women’s Forum)”.

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr Osagie E. Ehanire, will declare the conference open, while Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Sen. (Dr) Ibrahim Oloriegbe, will give legislative remarks at the opening ceremony.

Others invited to the conference include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, while UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Sokoto State Governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, are expected to deliver goodwill messages at the conference.

Wife of Nigeria’s Vice President, Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo, First Lady of Lagos State, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, and Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Baloni, have also been invited to grace the special session on “Women in Leadership Series (Launching the HFN Women’s Forum)”.

HFN’s Annual General Meeting and election will also form part of the two-day event which will be concluded with a Gala Dinner & Award Night that promises unmatched entertainment and an opportunity to relax and unwind away from the tedium of healthcare practice.

HFN, a coalition of Nigerian private healthcare sector stakeholders, has been at the forefront of health-care sector advocacy to draw stakeholder attention to the critical issues of all segments of the healthcare ecosystem and champion solution options to those issues. Last year, HFN held a special meeting with Senator Oloriegbe aimed at forging a new paradigm with the private health sector in order to address critical issues affecting the healthcare sector through collaboration with the parliament to ensure an all-beneficial consensus for the health sector and the populace in general. It also held a national stakeholders’ meeting on the draft National Policy on Incentivising the Health Service Industry to present the draft document to critical stakeholders across the public and private sectors.