NHIA, stakeholders seek universal health coverage for all Nigerians

To ensure an inclusive, efficient, sustainable, and affordable healthcare service for Nigerians, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIS) organised a stakeholders’ meeting to deliberate ways to mitigate the challenges of universal health coverage in the country.

NHIS was enacted in May 2022 to ensure the effective implementation of the National Health Insurance Policy that would facilitate the attainment of universal health coverage, a trajectory that would be all-inclusive for both the rich and vulnerable.

Zonal Coordinator, NHIA, Olufemi Akingbade, said that before now, people thought the scheme was for public servants only. He, however, reiterated that the scheme was for all Nigerians, stressing that “NHIA is bridging the gap so people can have access to qualify health care,” which is often caused by poverty, lack of awareness and weak leadership.

Akingbade noted that NHIA has introduced packages for cancer treatment at selected centres, which include Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital Zaria, Federal Medical Centre Gombe, National Hospital  Abuja, and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin among others.

Others are University College Hospital Ibadan and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu   to its initial group of individual, social, and family health insurance programme.”

The event is a quarterly meeting by NHIA to assess the level of work done and ways to make progress.