NHIA Hosts Stakeholders Meeting to Advance Universal Health Coverage in Nasarawa

By Roseline Okafor, Nasarawa.

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Nasarawa State Office has hosted a one-day Stakeholders’ Forum to promote universal health coverage.

The event, held at Golden Dabis Hotel in Keffi, brought together healthcare service providers, stakeholders, and policymakers to discuss ways to improve healthcare delivery in the state.

The meeting themed, “Leaving no one behind in the quest for Universal Health Coverage” with the objective to educate and sensitize stakeholders on the new NHIA Act and discuss ways to improve healthcare delivery in Nasarawa State.

The stakeholders meeting involved Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Health Care Facilities (HCFs) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) discussed the NHIA’s goal of achieving universal health coverage, ensuring that every Nigerian has access to quality healthcare at an affordable rate.

Dr. Christopher Okoh, the Zonal Director, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), North Central B in charge of Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau and Federal Capital Territory Abuja, spoke on the new policies of the NHIA which is one hour authorization time frame, to enable the enrollees obtain responses within a particular time.

According to Dr. Okoh, the NHIA seeks to ensure that healthcare providers deliver quality services to enrollees, emphasizing the importance of respecting patients’ rights and privileges.

“Other initiatives of the NHIA as supported by donors, one is Comprehensive Emergency Maternal and Neonatal Care (CEmONC), it’s an intervention
programme where all maternal emergencies are covered free even for non enrollees of the Authority and CEmONC is currently being implemented in over 200 hospitals in Nigeria, the programme started June 2024.

“So far, we have recorded the large number of beneficiaries and we still expecting more before the end of year, we also have the free fistula program which is an initiative because we discovered that Nigeria has one of the highest risks of fistula from pregnancy related courses”.

The Nasarawa state coordinator of NHIA, Mrs. Mary Aliyu, emphasized the forum aligns with the NHIA’s goal of achieving universal health coverage, ensuring that every Nigerian has access to quality healthcare at an affordable rate.

She said the NHIA is committed to partnering with stakeholders to provide quality healthcare services and promote health policies that benefit the people of Nasarawa State, saying that the forum will discuss ways to strengthen healthcare delivery systems, ensuring that patients receive quality care.

“The stakeholders meeting is to ensure that we can see how we will move towards the universal health coverage which we are be believing that by 2030 it will be fully attained, that is every citizen will have access to quality health care not just in the state but in the country as a whole”.

According to her, the rate of enrollment in Nasarawa state is encouraging especially in the informal sector and basic health care provision fund which has large number of enrollment, and appreciated the partners particularly the Nasarawa health Insurance Agency;(NASHIA) for its collaborative efforts towards ensuring that quality health care is provided to the citizens of the state.

In a keynote address, the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa state Health Insurance Agency (NASHIA) , Dr. Yahaya Ubam, said in order to achieve universal health coverage by 2030, the Federal and the state governments agreed on the need to establish both National Health insurance Authority and state social health insurance agencies which is why the state government established NASHIA to give its citizens a better health care.

Dr. Ubam, disclosed that with six years establishment of NASHIA, the agency has recorded over three hundred thousand enrollment, a move, he described as remarkable achievement but reiterated that more need to be in terms of enrollment of citizens because the door is open to everyone irrespective of organizations.

Participants, Cosmos Michael from Ultimate HMO Abuja, Nwachukwu Ofie from ERCC Hospital Alushi, Akwanga, and Mike Agada representing the Nasarawa state sector commander of the FRSC, Corp commander Adiko Apia, described the stakeholders meeting as timely considering the new policies introduced by the NHIS and promised to use the knowledge gained during the meeting to translate it to others for the benefit of all.