31 states unwilling to roll out MDG cover for health

Only five states have indicated willingness to take part in a N3.1 billion MDG programme to provide primary health cover for their citizens, said the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS.   (video here) The implementation of health cover under the Millennium Development Goal which targets universal insurance is being restarted by the NHIS, after it […]

Only five states have indicated willingness to take part in a N3.1 billion MDG programme to provide primary health cover for their citizens, said the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS.

 

(video here)

The implementation of health cover under the Millennium Development Goal which targets universal insurance is being restarted by the NHIS, after it was earlier suspended by federal government on account of funding concerns, said NHIS executive secretary, Abdulrahman Sambo.

During a courtesy call on Media Trust in Abuja, today, Sambo said NHIS has received “N3.1 billion for implementation of programmes in states that are willing to pay counterpart funding.”

The five states that have so far shown any commitment include Borno, Yobe, Niger, Oyo and Edo.

Nationwide, just about nine million Nigerians have any form of health cover, including around 2.7 million federal government employees and
another one million in the organised private sector.

At least 500,000 new clients have enrolled since community-based health insurance schemes began rolling out last year, but Sambo said,
proportion of Nigerians with any health cover was “grossly inadequate.”

He said potential enrolee states put off by insurance contributions were at liberty to start their own health plans for their formal
sector citizens, if they could develop a scheme to be mandatorily regulated by NHIS.

Bayelsa has started its scheme, Kano has indicated it is willing to, Kwara is on the verge of starting one and Bauchi is expanding its
programme to cover statewide formal sector, Sambo explained.

“A number of states before the end of the year will have their formal sector programme. The message is you don’t have to join NHIS.

“Start health insurance for your people. We will provide the regulatory framework and technical assistance. The most important
thing is for people to get cover,” he said.