The administration of president Bola Tinubu has ordered industrialisation of the health sector for value chain and local production toward ensuring quality healthcare services for Nigerians.
Consequently, the Federal Government has launched the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and Operational Guidelines 2023 that specified the basic minimum package of health services for all Nigerians and how schemes would strategically purchase these services across the federation.
Speaking at unveiling of the guidelines, yesterday, in Abuja, Coordinating Minister of Health, Prof Mohammed Ali Pate, stressed that people should not be pushed into poverty because of ill health, restating that the current administration intends to see more Nigerians covered by health insurance to meet set-out goals.
He noted that less than 10 per cent of the population is currently covered by health insurance, imploring implementers of the programme to capture more Nigerians to meet the goals set by the President to have an additional 50 million covered by health insurance. Pate stated a robust health care value chain would guarantee quality, lower cost and access.
The minister said Tinubu’s aspirations are transformative, adding: “As part of the renewed hope agenda of the present administration, access to affordable and quality healthcare for all Nigerians is key. On our path to universal health coverage, the NHIA Act 2022 has to be operationalised. The guidelines are to provide a direction for the Federal Government and the states. With the provisions of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), we can work in a concerted way to expand the affordability of health care for the population, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable Nigerians. These guidelines have been developed in a consultative manner with all actors,”
He said the Federal Government would provide funding for over 8000 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the federation through the BHCPF.
In his remarks, Director General of NHIA, Prof. Mohammed Sambo, explained that the guidelines have provided the framework for operationalising the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF), as encapsulated in the NHIA Act 2022.
