Thomas Doe
Social WorkerNulla totam rem metus nunc hendrerit ex voluptatum deleniti laboris, assumenda suspendisse, maecenas malesuada morbi a voluptate massa! Hendrerit, egestas.
The Lagos Civil Society Partnership for Development, LACSOP and The Joint Learning Agenda for Universal Health Coverage, JLA4UHC have joined the Lagos State Health Insurance Management Agency, LASHMA to score Lagos State’s preparation for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act implementation while presenting awareness creation materials to improve the health insurance landscape in the state as well as improve minimum basic package to the poor and vulnerable residents within Lagos communities.
In his remarks to the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emmanuella Zamba, Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders during the meeting held on Thursday, August 9, 2023, at the LASHMA’s conference room, the Chairman ,Board of trustees Lagos Civil Society Partnership for Development) LACSOP), Mr. Ayo Adebusoye advocated health insurance scheme under one roof as he canvases for synegy on roles and operational guidelines of the National Health Insurance Act 2023 by the management of Lagos Health Insurance Scheme.
Adebusoye said Lagos through it’s health insurance scheme called ” Ilera Eko”, has done well in getting vulnerable residents of the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas enrolled into the health plan and should also expand universal health coverage of minimum package to include family planning consumables, testing and treatment of HIV across the state.
The Chairman ,Board of trustees of LACSOP also commended Dr. Emmanuella Zamba over her appointment as the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Health Management Agency, LASHMA and assured of more collaborations with the agency in achieving it’s mandate on insurance coverage for vulnerable residents in the state.
During an overview of the Joint Learning Agenda, the 2023 National Health Insurance Act Advocacy and the scorecard instrument to improve demand generation for the Lagos health insurance scheme, the consultants from the Joint Learning Agenda for Universal Health Coverage for Universal Health Coverage, (JLA4UHC), Olajide Akanni and Olympus Adebanjo advocated the need for the implementation of six thematic areas such as governance and co-ordination, financing, service delivery and client satisfaction, data reporting and management, accountability and transparency as well as demand generation to upscale access to everyone especially the poor and vulnerable residents.
Olympus Adebanjo commended the Lagos State Government and her Kano state counterpart for the successes recorded in the implementation of their health insurance schemes and it’s alignment to the national health insurance act as he called for more synegy in achieving the mandatory health insurance for all under the National Health Insurance Act 2022.
In her response, the Permanent Secretary of LASHMA, Dr Emmanuella Zamba thanked the Civil Society Organisations for always partnering with the government especially the agency towards inclusive governance and assured that steps will be taken by the agency to review the LASHMA Law to make it align with the National Health Insurance Act 2022.
Dr Zamba said the review once completed by the state house of assembly will address the gaps currently noticed in the scheme to make it more effective and also upscale access to vulnerable residents.
LASHIMA’s Permanent Secretary also informed the stakeholders that the agency will soon set up a taskforce which will help in enforcement, monitoring and implementation of the health insurance scheme once the review scales through and it becomes operational.
Dr Zamba promised collaboration with the Civil Society Organisations, Community-Based organizations and social mobilizers to drive demand generation to vulnerable residents especially within grassroot communities.