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BY PATIENCE IVIE IHEJIRIKA, Abuja
In an effort to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has flagged off the Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP).
The programme will allow individuals, families and groups to join the NHIS ecosystem.
Speaking during the launch of the programme, yesterday in Abuja, the Executive Secretary, NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo, said the innovation was inline with the federal government’s
Health Sector Next Level Agenda for attainment of UHC through mandatory Health Insurance.
He said that the GIFSHIP will leverage on the overarching e-NHIS framework, which according to him, has been on the drawing board for more than a decade and was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“Some of the appealing features of this programme are: the inbuilt mechanisms to guard against moral hazard, adverse selection as well as allowing room for organizations, political office holders, donor agencies, multinational corporations, philanthropists and people in diaspora to contribute their quota towards the attainment of UHC,” he explained.
In his speech, the minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who commended the management of the NHIS for the achievement, expressed optimism that the programme will rapidly expand the scope of healthcare coverage in the country’s urgent quest to attain UHC.
According to him, GIFSHIP offers citizens an opportunity to participate and benefit from the health insurance; there is opportunity for affordable individual enrolment, enrolment of a family unit or a group of people. Any of the enrolments can also be sponsored by well-meaning individuals, Trusts, or organizations.
“I therefore invite members of the polity, philanthropists, Nigerians in the diaspora, among others, to take advantage of this fantastic option to provide healthcare coverage for their families, communities, clans and enrol members of their constituencies, loved ones and relations, thereby giving them financial access to comprehensive quality healthcare at the point of need. The larger the pool of enrolees, the stronger the Insurance base will be.”
