By Asmau Ahmad
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has assured Nigerians that the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is achievable by 2030 in Nigeria.
North Zonal Coordinator of the NHIA, Mr Adelaja Abereoran stated this on Friday in Ilorin, Kwara state during an interactive session with journalists.
He said the acceleration of programmes, implementation of NHIA Act and effective collaboration with all stakeholders would ensure the realisation of UHC in Nigeria by 2030.
According to him, it is now compulsory for every Nigerian to enroll in the health insurance scheme.
“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),” he said.
Abereoran, who supervises 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 UHC 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, bound to significantly alter the health insurance ecosystem in Nigeria.
“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,” he said.
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 group.
