Universal Health Coverage Achievable By 2030 – NHIA

Universal health coverage by 2030 in Nigeria is achievable, the North-Central zonal coordinator of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Adelaja Abereoran, has said.

He said the acceleration of programmes, implementation of NHIA Act and effective collaboration with all stakeholders will bring about the realization of universal health coverage in the country by the year 2030.

Abereoran, who said it’s now compulsory for every Nigerian to enrol for health insurance scheme, spoke during an interactive session with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State capital on Friday.

He said that: “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. This is based on a presidential mandate and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Abereoran, who oversees Kwara, Kogi and Niger States, said some of the reforms included value system re-orientation,promotion of transparency/accountability and accelerating the drive towards achieving universal health coverage through the consolidation of existing programmes and innovation.

He described the National Health Insurance Act 2022 signed into law on May 19, 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari as “a landmark legislation which is bound to significantly alter the health insurance ecosystem in Nigeria.”

The zonal coordinator added that, “some of the efforts mentioned above have been yielding results positively. The NHIA has been receiving awards for its innovations and interventions. The awards include IT compliance by NITDA; Best Grade A parastatal by SERVICOM; Ethics and Integrity Compliance Score Card (EICS 2022) with a rating of 74.5% by the ICPC.”

Abereoran urged the Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to partner with NHIA to create more awareness and also purchase health insurance for journalists as a group.

Responding, the chairman of NUJ in the State, AbdulLateef Ahmed, thanked the management of NHIA for carrying journalists along in their programmes in the State