By Lara Adejoro
The FCT Health Insurance Scheme has surpassed the enrolment targets set by the Health Services and Environment Secretariat for 2024.
The Mandate Secretary of the FCT-HSES, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, announced this after a road walk organised by the FHIS to commemorate Universal Healthcare Coverage Day 2024 in Abuja.
A statement issued by the FHIS Public Relations Officer, David Barau, on Friday, noted that UHC aims to ensure no one is left behind, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
Dr Fasawe, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of HSES, Dr Baba-Gana Adam, stated that the FHIS had been tasked with reaching 100,000 enrollees over four years, with an annual target of 25,000 enrollees.
However, they have exceeded this target by 11,000.
“The target we were given for the Federal sector was 25,000 per year. Between January and November 2024, the FHIS enroled 36,000 people, exceeding the target by 11,000. We are still counting, as today is the 12th of December 2024. The goal of UHC is to ensure that no one, particularly the poor and vulnerable, is left behind,” Fasawe explained.
She added that with an established mandatory legal framework, the FHIS is on track to meet its target for informal sector enrolment.
Meanwhile, she disclosed that the Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has cleared all outstanding payments to Health Maintenance Organisations.
“We have never had it so good under this administration. All claims from our HMOs and health facilities have been paid. Meetings have been held with stakeholders, including the HMOs and our facilities. We have already approved the payment for the first quarter of 2025. With the backlogs cleared, we are moving forward to fulfil the Minister’s promise,” she noted.
Earlier, the Acting Director of FHIS, Dr Salamatu Belgore, presented the UHC Day call to action letter to Dr Fasawe for transmission to the FCT minister.
She stressed that healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a privilege.
“UHC means that everyone has access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship,” she said.
She further explained that in the last 20 years, global financial protection has worsened, with 2 billion people experiencing financial hardship, and 1.3 billion being pushed into poverty due to health expenses.
“In Nigeria, out-of-pocket spending remains high, consistently over 75 per cent for the past four years,” she stated.
Belgore highlighted that the call to action letter included proposals for providing a legal framework for the FCT Health Insurance Agency Establishment Act, digital innovations, investment in public health infrastructure, revitalisation of PHCs, and the provision of equity funding — two per cent from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the FCT — for enrolling the poor and vulnerable, as well as addressing the human resources for health gap.
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