Unemployment, poverty responsible for poor implementation of NHIS
From Taofeek Surdiq, Ado-Ekiti
A Senior Manager at the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) Dr Jide Oloyede, has explained that poverty and unemployment are the main problems confronting the implementation of the National Health Insurance Law.
He noted that for the scheme to be mandatory for all Nigerians and holistically implemented, there is need for the government to tackle the menace of unemployment and poverty ravaging the country.
He equally attributed what he called poor implementation of the NHIS as responsible for the inability of the general public to make headway in achieving universal health coverage and the experience of decline in the life expectancy of Nigerians.
The NHIA Senior Manager spoke in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, during a town hall meeting organised by the Centre for Social Justice, in partnership with Palladium and United States of America for International Development (USAID).
The programme attended by market women, artisan, members of the Civil Society Organisations, religious groups, civil servants, youths and transport unions targeted at the policy brief on full implementation of NHI Law with the objective of providing policy recommendations to increase health insurance care coverage in Ekiti State.
He urged people of the State to cue into the NHIS, noting that the Federal Government through the agency has provided more opportunities for the populace.
Also speaking, the Director of Planning and Research, Ekiti State Health Insurance Scheme, (EKSHIS) Mr Ogunyemi Oyeyemi, explained that for the scheme to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC), there is need for the government to redouble its efforts and focus more attention on the health sector.
He said the NHIS could only be made compulsory and achieve its purpose for the masses, if government at all levels increase their annual budgets to the health sector and release more fund to the NHIS, in line with the 1999, NHIS decree 35 as signed into law.
The EKSHIS Director of Planning and Research, said though the cankerworms of poverty and joblessness are issues to be considered before holistic implementation of the NHIS law, but hinted that government has special programmes that capture poor Nigerians.
As part of efforts of the Ekiti State Government at making healhcare services available for the people of the State, he disclosed that the government through its health insurance scheme called “ULERAWA” have registered about 22,913 beneficiaries spread across 175 health facilities across the 16 local governments in the state.
He stated that: “The authority is trying to create avenues to ensure that many poor and vulnerable people are captured, knowing that many people are incapacitated financially, government is introducing equity plan covering elderly, physically challenged, children, pregnant women, and poor Nigerians.”
