The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is being repositioned to adequately respond to the challenge of attaining Universal Health Coverage (UCH) in Nigeria by the year 2030.
The zonal coordinator of the agency in North Central zone, Alh. Adamu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Friday during an interactive session with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Abdullahi also announced the resolve of the agency to ensure that Nigerians living in rural communities in any part of the country are captured in the scheme.
Abdullahi added that the agency has been sensitising the public on the need to embrace the new Groups, Individuals and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP) policy scheme, which has made provision for every Nigerian to have health insurance.
He recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the NHIA Bill into law on May 19, 2022, which repealed the NHIS Act and made health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians.
He said the acceleration of programmes’ implementation of NHIA Act and effective collaboration with all stakeholders will bring about the realisation of universal health coverage in the country by the year 2030.
“NHIA has been undertaking reforms to reposition the authority to adequately respond to the challenge of attaining universal health coverage (UHC) in Nigeria by the year 2030,” he said.
Abdullahi listed some of the reforms to include value system re-orientation, promoting transparency and accountability.
He added that the agency will accelerate the drive towards achieving UHC through consolidation of existing programmes and innovation.
In his contribution, the Kwara State coordinator of NHIA, Alh Yahaya Ahmed, stated that that the new Act has empowered the authority to better regulate the service providers, the health facilities, Health Maintenance Organisation (HMOs) and further protect the interest of enrolees in the insurance scheme.
Ahmed, who was represented by Dr Saka Ismail, the acting general manager, NHIA Kwara State Office, noted that the agency has initiated innovations to cooperate with pharmaceutical industry to help enrollees with illnesses not captured in the health insurance scheme.
