A Consultant in Community Health, Prof. Olumuyiwa Odunsanya, has called for the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover all sectors toward attainment of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Odunsanya, a Professor of Public Medicine, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, made the call on Monday at an Ordinary General Meeting in Lagos.
The meeting was organised by the college’s chapter of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) with the theme: “Universal Health Coverage’’.
According to him, to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, we have to make NHIS compulsory which will cover all sectors including the private and the public.
“It will also require that our health systems should continually be improved by not only receiving funds, but show it can do and deliver.
“General improvement in the quality of life in terms of improvements in power, food and water supply.
“No health insurance system can function efficiently if up to 40 to 50 per cent of its enrolees are ill frequently.
“This is a challenge for government to wake up to its responsibility to solve these problems which have a multiplier effect on the overall wellbeing of the people,“ he said.
Odunsanya also identified low level of political will, weak health systems and lack of awareness on the benefits of health insurance as factors responsible for the low level of UHC in Nigeria.
“Advocacy is necessary to eliminate ignorance, reduce prejudice, lower resistance and create an enabling environment for future would-be users of health insurance.
“This can take the form of mass communication, lobbying, and health talks in our hospitals.
“Members of MDCAN, as leaders of the health team, can leverage on our networks and family members to canvass support for health insurance.
“This approach can spread the word down to the grassroots at minimal costs,“ he said.
Also speaking on leadership in the health sector, a Consultant Gynaecologist, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, said that there was need to start training medical students to lead in the sector.
Fabanwo said that this was to address the dilemma in the sector.
“Lately, there have been issues of who is to head the health institutions and it is sad that medical personnel will jostle for positions.
“So, it has become necessary for physicians in the undergraduate class to start preparing to assume leadership roles and engage in continuous education.
“Physicians who want to assume for leadership roles should also improve on their management skills where the aim is to deliver and improve healthcare in the country, “ he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of MDCAN in LASUTH, Dr Olayinka Ogunleye, said that UHC was the only way forward to confronting the menace of out-of-pocket payment by Nigerians.
“In Nigeria, the majority pays out-of-pocket and that multiplies the poverty cycle.
“If UHC becomes the norm, we can be sure of having access to effective healthcare,“ he said.