Academy demands 6 in 10 Nigerians get health cover by 2023

The West African Academy of Public Health, WAAPH, on Wednesday, demanded the federal government to ensure at least 60 in every 100 Nigerians get health insurance cover in the next five years.

WAAPH president, Francis Ohanyido, said the current level of health insurance coverage in the country was too low and unacceptable.

“We need to make sure that within the next five years, at least, 60 percent of Nigerians are covered by health insurance, from the informal workers to corporate workers,” he said.

The demand came as WAAPH marked the International Universal Health Coverage, UHC Day in Abuja with a training in health literacy and leadership for universal health coverage.

Cover under the National Health Insurance Scheme reached only three percent of Nigerians since 2005.

But proponents are insisting that health insurance cover is the quickest route to achieve universal coverage.

“We need to have that kind of scenario because that is the way to go. And it is the only thing that makes sense because health should not be taken for granted,” Ohanyido said.

Chief oversight officer for Vaccine Network for Disease Control, Chika Offor, said UHC day is about the ability of Nigerians to access healthcare without personal spending.