Nation
WHO Backs National Health Insurance Act Implementation
A delegation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Mission for Health Financing to Nigeria, says the United Nations agency is committed to supporting the implementation of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act.
The technical officer of the mission, Fahdi Dkhimi, said this when he led a WHO team and officials of NHIA to pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Media and Public Relations of the Ministry, Mr Ahmadu Chindaya, in Abuja.
According to Chindaya, the visiting team also discussed possible ways to effectively operationalise the Act for the benefit of Nigerians.
Dkhaimi also quoted Ehanire as welcoming the gesture from WHO, adding that the operationalisation of the Act faced some challenges such as infrastructural, human resource and investment patterns.
“Most of the investments have gone to the very large visible hospitals which are not much utilised at the expense of small primary healthcare centres in the rural areas”, he said.
Ehanire, however, solicited investment and higher level of care at the sub urban level in order to achieve universal health coverage.
The Tide’s source reports that the Act was recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It aims at, in collaboration with state Health Insurance agencies, empowering the NHIA to provide health insurance for all Nigerians through a mandatory mechanism.
It also sets to establish a Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF), indicating the various sources from which funding would be drawn.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
