Functional NHIS is solution to universal health coverage, says experts

Medical experts have said that until Nigeria has a functional National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), it will not attain the Sustainable Development Goals target of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.

They lamented that the UHC, as stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for all countries of the world to attain before the stipulated year, which include access to quality, essential and affordable healthcare services as well as safe, effective medicines and vaccines for all, is contrary to what the Nigerian situation is today.

This was stated at a press conference to herald the 2019 ‘August Event’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of St. Nicholas Hospital and its founder’s foundation, Chief Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi Foundation, on his passion for growth and development in healthcare and education in Nigeria.

The bi-yearly event themed ‘Universal Health Coverage and the Role of a Functional National Health Insurance Scheme’ is billed for Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, by 10am.

Zonal Co-ordinator of NHIS, Olufemi Akingbade; former Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris and other medical experts at home and in the Diaspora abroad will discuss the state of Nigeria’s healthcare system and the task of fostering an accessible and functional National Health Insurance Scheme.

The Clinical Director, St. Nicholas Hospital, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, who spoke at the conference, said the issue of the NHIS and the UHC was pioneered by the late Majekodunmi in the 60s as the then Minister of Health, which was presented as a bill to the House of Representatives, which he noted, never came to fruition.

Bamgboye, who will deliver the keynote address at the event, added that if it had come to fruition, the burden of maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria would not have been worst as compared to the indices in other African countries.

“We have a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which was conceived by our founder decades ago and if that NHIS is functional as it should be, it will certainly help to improve the quality of healthcare we give as a country. Our hope is that at the end of the day, government will actually improve on the service that the NHIS provides and also help to improve on the quality of care that we give our citizenry,” he stressed.

Speaking on the event, Chairman of the Foundation, Olufemi Majekodunmi, said: “We are in a society where basic healthcare and education is a luxury for most people, the event will provide an avenue where issues on UHC will be laid bare and answers will hopefully emerge for a greater Nigeria.”

His Royal Majesty, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, who will be the Chairman of the occasion and other distinguished personalities will also grace the event.