Health Insurance: NHIA, NOA collaborate to train field officers in Akwa Ibom

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has trained the Community Mobilisation Officers (COMO) of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to enable them to drive grassroots enlightenment on the health insurance scheme in Akwa Ibom State.

 

Speaking at the two-day training workshop for NOA’s personnel in Uyo, the Director-General  NHIAl/Chief Executive, Professor Mohammed Sambo, said the new NHIA Act 2022, now madehealth insurance mandatory for all Nigerians, stressing that the health insurance would give people access to affordable  quality health care regardless their economic status.

 

He added that the insurance was not only for civil servants but for people in the informal Sector as well.

 

Sambo, who was represented  by the Acting Director of Media NHIA, Mr. Emmanuel Ononokpono, said  that the  training  was geared towards  creating knowledge, education  as well as attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country. 

 

He further stated that the effort was the resolve of the agency to enlighten Nigerians living in rural communities in the state and to ensure that more people are captured in the scheme.

 

“Today NHIA is collaborating with the National Orientation Agency to train community Mobilisation Officers to the extent that they can bear the message and transmit same at the various local levels.

 

“The fundamental of the training is to ultimately see that every Nigerian wherever they may live hear about health insurance.

 

“We adopt this strategy to increase health awareness because Nigerians need enough information to enable them to have access to affordable and quality health care,” he added.

 

On his part, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of NHIA, Mr Williams  Ebiokobo revealed that Health Insurance  was the sure pathway to achieving the desired health outcomes in Nigerian populace and ultimately Universal Health Coverage.

 

He explained that  the health insurance  provided financial protection against rising medical costs, peace of mind  without financial pressure in case of medical emergencies, affordable healthcare lifetime renewability (as with GIFSHIP with no age limit), cashless hospitalization and 

network of hospitals

 

Ebiokobo, stressed that health insurance was not only limited to civil servants earning monthly salaries, adding that the scheme has various programmes such as Group, Individuals, and Family Social Programme (GIFSHIP) that covers both villagers, artisans, and other categories of people in the society.

 

He however noted that low awareness and funding had been the major challenges confronting the agency.

 

He expressed optimism that the collaboration with NOA would step up awareness and the new NHIA Act would also help to develop innovative ways of financing the health insurance scheme.

 

Also speaking, the Director-General of NOA, Dr. Garba Abari assured that being an agency to disseminate all government policies and programmes, NOA would take NHIA’s activities to the grassroots

 

Abari, who was represented by the Director, Human Resource Management, Mr. Kehinde Ogunkuade, noted that the health of all Nigerians also remained the concern of the agency, adding that a “healthy manpower produces a healthy development”.

 

“NOA is interested in taking the programme to the grassroots so that all Nigerians will benefit from the activities of the NHIA. Health is important to every Nigerian and we want Nigerians to be healthy.

 

“Information is power. If you don’t have information about a thing, you won’t have trust in it and that is why we have to take the information to the grassroots” he added

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