Senator Oloriegbe Advocates Health Insurance for Nigerians

Rebecca Ejifoma

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, alongside members of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), has advocated health insurance for all Nigerians.

He noted this at the Strategic Stakeholders Meeting on Draft National Policy on Incentivising the Health Service Industry and Healthcare Investments powered by HFN in Lagos.

Oloriegbe bemoaned that health insurance coverage remains very poor, hence, he said there was a need to make healthcare at both public and private hospitals accessible for all.

While addressing other pressing issues members of the HFN highlighted, the senator outlined, “What the government is doing is to improve the working environment.

“In terms of increasing salaries, it’s not that it’s possible to increase salaries just like that because. If you say you’ll increase the salaries of doctors, what about nurses, pharmacies and so on?”

“In Nigeria, the chairman continued, “our salary system is based on certain general rules that if you have this qualification, this is what you can earn”.

According to the senator, the only thing you can do is improve the working environment, “which is what we are trying to do and pay those salaries that are approved to health workers generally appropriately”.

He also harped on the need for incentives as stimulants for health care professionals. “That is why we also agreed here that the private sector has a role to play. If they organise better and they pay certain incentives, that will retain some of our brains to stay here.”

Speaking also, the President of HFN, Dr. Pamela Ajayi, urged the government to finance the health sector aside from getting private health practitioners to be more included in government policy and programmes.

Her words: “We have talked about certain policy issues that need to be changed including private sector incentives, and certain bills that need to be passed.

“There is a lot the private sector is advocating for. We cover everything from doctors to big pharma, manufacturing pharma, specialists, retail, big hospitals, nursing, biomedical engineering, psychiatries, veterinary.”

She, however, implored members to persevere, emphasising that there is a lot that needs to be done.

Ajayi admitted to newsmen that a lot still needs to happen for the private sector to reach its ultimate goal, which is to provide affordable and accessible care of excellent quality to Nigerians.

“We are working with the government, ensuring regulation is there and also ensuring we achieve the highest standard possible,” added the president.