By Asishana John
In a drive to make the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) mandatory for every Nigerian, the legislative arm has passed the NHIS Act into law and it is now awaiting final assent by the President Muhammadu Buhari.
NHIS, Mohammed Sambo, director-general, NHIS, disclosed this when Guy Muray-Bruce, president of the Silverbird Group, paid a courtesy call on the health insurance boss in Abuja to discuss issues regarding then partnership between both entities and to explore ways of working together in the overall drive towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
In a statement signed by the Head, Media and Public Relations, NHIS, Emmanuel Ononokpono, the NHIS boss said, “The reviewed NHIS Act that has undergone legislative amendment has been presented to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent following its passage by both chambers of the legislature,” adding that the would-be legislation will make health insurance compulsory for all Nigerians.
“With the passage of the bill into law, the Buhari administration’s next level agenda on health, which is to ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable and quality healthcare, will be achieved. The scheme’s 10-year strategic plan, whose implementation has begun, holds the prospects of ensuring that UHC is attained before the projected timeline.”
He noted that access to affordable and quality health care for all Nigerians would mark the attainment of the landmark in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whilst also informing that the scheme has already covered 99 percent of workers who are on federal government payroll under its formal sector programme.
The NHIS chief noted that he inherited an agency that had drifted away from its core objectives, leading him to conduct a system diagnosis in resolving the problems he met on ground. He, however, revealed that the scheme’s high turnover of Chief Executives, which made him the twelfth in the organisation’s 25-year history, had drastically affected the implementation of the scheme’s programmes.
He, therefore, gave the assurance that the major problems of the scheme will be resolved under his watch.
“Having earned my name in organisational management, if I am unable to fix NHIS’ problems then after my tenure I should go back to my village rather than back to the classroom,” he said.
Sambo further stressed the signifcance of partnership with the media — being a viable and effective vehicle for mass education — as ways of addressing the low awareness of the scheme.He maintained that the policies would work better if people truly understood how the policies operate.
In his remarks, Muray Bruce, said that Silverbird was seeking areas of partnership and collaboration with the scheme in the overall interest of Nigeria’s healthcare system. He added that Silverbird is in a position to give positive representation to the various efforts of the scheme.