Sola Ogundipe
23 September 2008
If there is anything the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr. Waziri Dogo Muhammad is sure of, it is that the Scheme would not follow foot steps of other failed government projects.
Dogo Muhammad who gave this assurance recently in Gombe said the Scheme in its effort to attain universal coverage by 2015 is taking its advocacy train nationwide, and called on stakeholders to ensure that the Scheme succeeds in its efforts to attain universal coverage by 2015.
While describing the Scheme as the fastest growing health insurance programme in the world, he said the scheme needs to still move faster than it is now to achieve more success.
He explained that Costa Rica which has a population of about 4.5million people was only able to cover all its citizens in twenty years, while noting that Nigeria, which just started its programme in 2005 has been able to cover about three million people in three years.
Dogo-Muhammad said the NHIS is fashioned in a manner that every one would be covered, as the rich, the poor, the young and the old are integrated in the different segments of the scheme.
He noted that Gombe State was chosen from the North East Zone of the country because of the peculiar health situation of the state and urged the people to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the NHIS/MDGs project, as it would greatly improve the health status of the people of the state.
Responding, Executive Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed Goje, commended the management of the scheme and the MDGs office for this vital programme, and assured that his state would support the project and participate in it.
He called on indigenes of the state to support the NHIS programmes as it has a lot to offer. In a related development while speaking in Jos at an interactive session with members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Executive Secretary said the meeting with the Trade union Congress will go a long way in addressing many grey areas in the implementation of the scheme.
"There will be continuous consultation with various stakeholders to make the scheme move forward. NHIS therefore invite suggestions from various levels that would help fast track the achievement of the scheme's objectives", he said.
He called on the leadership of the Trade Union Congress across the country to provide necessary support that would make the scheme realisable and achievable for Nigerians.
"NHIS is therefore, using this medium to invite suggestions and inputs on the way forward for achieving the mandate of universal coverage of all Nigerians by the year 2015.
There is no doubt that the greatest challenge of NHIS is in the implementation of the Rural Community Programme. I hope that members of the TUC will also provide the needed support for improvement of healthcare to the rural populace" he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
