FG Boosts NHIS With N150m

The Federal Govern
ment has established a National Health Accounts to improve the quality of healthcare service delivery in the country.
The measure is to expand access to basic healthcare facilities at all operational levels throughout the country.
The project, which is taking off with N150m, would support the engagement of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the provision of healthcare for citizens.
The Deputy Director/Head, Health Systems Support, Mrs. E. Vashti, said this in an interview after delivering a paper on behalf of the Director, Health, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Ansa Ogu, during the follow-up action on the global agreement reached at the third Global Conference on Human Resources for Health, held in Recife, Brazil.
She said, “In the Universal Health Coverage, the government intends to ensure that everybody benefits from healthcare delivery services without paying so much for it. So, the government decided to put things on the ground to make sure that the average Nigerian benefits from the healthcare delivery system. About N150m has been put on what we call the National Health Account, which is looking at the best ways to implement not only the National Health Insurance Scheme but other things that will enable the average Nigerian to get access to healthcare for as little as possible.
According to her, “What is happening now is that the average Nigerian is paying a lot for out-of-pocket expenses to cover their healthcare needs. But the government is looking forward to bringing down the cost of healthcare delivery as much as it can.”
Said added that with the passing of the National Health Bill, “there will be a law that will mandate government to provide healthcare for its citizens for as low as possible without the individual spending a lot of money.”