Ekiti has lowest health insurance coverage in south-west Nigeria — Survey

AMONG states in the South-West of Nigeria, Ekiti State has the lowest health insurance coverage generally, and no child in the state has any form of health insurance.

A UNICEF Health Specialist, Dr Ijeoma Agbo, revealed this while speaking at a two-day media dialogue on the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster (MICS) 6 organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lagos State Directorate, in conjunction with UNICEF.

Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is conducted every two years by the Bureau of Statistics with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund to fill the data gap for monitoring the situation of children and mothers’ health.

The survey was launched by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on August 16, 2022.

The 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which ranked the Ekiti States lowest in health insurance coverage for women, also ranked Ekiti, Ogun and Oyo states as having the highest infant and child mortality rates.

At the dialogue, Agbo revealed that between three and four children die within one month of delivery in Ekiti, Ogun and Oyo states, a development she described as worrisome.

She declared: “Once a child survives the first month of birth, the probability of dying is highest in Ekiti and lowest in Lagos and Osun states.Though Lagos State has the lowest rate of child mortality, there is the need for its government to also do more considering the population. These scorecards are not to castigate the government but a call to action to look at what we are supposed to work on.”

In a bid to increase survival rates of children in Ekiti State, she called on the newly sworn-in governor, Abayomi Oyebanji, to prioritise health insurance to cut the state’s infant and neonatal mortalities currently put at 67 per 1000 live births and 53 per 1000 live births respectively, one of the highest in Southwest Nigeria.

UNICEF M4R Specialist, Mr Oluwasola Olanipekun, who spoke on an overview of MICS-6 implications across the south-west region, affirmed that 21 percent of children in the region were delivered outside health facilities, thus contributing to child mortality.

He added that Ondo State had the highest child mortality in the region, recording 35 percent of deaths between the first and fifth birthday and higher by 12 percent than the South-West average.

Earlier, the UNICEF Communication Officer, Lagos Office, Mrs Blessing Ejiofor, said the meeting was to share with the media partners the MICS data on the situation of children and women in South-West Nigeria to inform accurate media advocacy on child rights issues and trigger actions to bridge existing gaps.