Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Gombe Emir, Other Stakeholders To Address Universal Health Coverage In Nigeria

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Gombe Emir, Other Stakeholders To Address Universal Health Coverage In Nigeria

To explore how Nigeria can achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a National Health Dialogue is set to hold in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday, organisers have announced.

The annual event – in its second edition – is organised by PREMIUM TIMES; Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ; the Project for Advocacy in Child and Family Health; PACFaH@Scale; the Project Pink Blue and the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF).

Dogo Mohammed, a former executive secretary of Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), will deliver a keynote speech at the two-day health dialogue holding at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja at 7:30 am daily.

According to organizers, the event is themed “Universal Health Coverage – The role of State and Non-State Actors in Healthcare funding and support.”

To advance the critical conversations initiated during the last edition held in August 2017, the Emir of Gombe, Abubakar Shehu-Abubakar, will be leading over 400 health sector actors to reflect on how to finance Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.

“One of the main constraints to accessing healthcare is the ability to pay for healthcare; and where the individual can afford it, access to standard healthcare facilities,’ organizers said.

“It is all a function of how much resources are deployed towards providing quality and affordable healthcare both from the public and private sector.

“The dialogue seeks to stimulate discussions on the current status, challenges, opportunities and recommend actionable steps and strategies to better healthcare financing and support towards improved Universal Health Coverage.

“Working with PACFaH@scale, ProjectPinkblue, the NGF, NSIA, ISMPH and others participating, we will have expert presentations and panel discussions also with panellists from other African countries including the head of the NHIS in Ghana among other senior health practitioners in Africa.”

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, and health minister Osagie Ehanire are the special guests at the event.

A major highlight of the dialogue is a special expert session by the partnership for the Advocacy in Child and Family Health at the Scale PACFah@Scale (PAS).