Former Chairman of the National Health Insurance Implementation Committee, Dr. Segun Ogundimu

By Adaeze Anaekwe                       

A former Chairman of the National Health Insurance Implementation Committee, who is also the Managing Director of Clearline HMO International, Dr. Segun Ogundimu, has underscored the need to adopt a grassroots-based strategic approach towards achieving success for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) .

He said the penetration rate of the health insurance scheme is still very low and as a result, a concrete plan of action should be adopted to promote the scheme at the grassroots level.

His call is coming against the background of an estimated three million Nigerians having access to health insurance scheme out of a population of 150 million people. For the health indices to improve, Ogundimu asserted that a community-based strategy is the panacea to promote massive acceptability for the health insurance scheme.

Ogundimu, who spoke on the introduction of “the retail health insurance, said the scheme was designed to capture the grass root and the informal sector and also raise awareness of Nigerians on the availability of affordable healthcare that does not take all their life earnings which is in line with the vision of the NHIS.”

He stated that there is the urgent need to create nationwide awareness in order to sensitise Nigerians on the benefits of the scheme, adding that it is the strong focus on community-based approach that informed Clearline HMO’s collaboration with several community-based associations across the country in order to spread awareness about the retail health scheme.