Sanwo-Olu urges residents to enroll in Lagos Health Insurance Scheme

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged Lagosians to enroll in the state’s Health Insurance Scheme to make quality healthcare services affordable and accessible to residents.

Speaking during the Medic West Africa Conference on Wednesday in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu said that registering for the scheme would enable government to prioritise its healthcare programme to enhance its quality and affordability to residents.

He said that the health insurance coverage must be scaled up as a condition to build the confidence of private investors in the scheme.

”For health to be completely affordable and accessible, people must subscribe to our Health Insurance Scheme, where we need to increase coverage in terms of registration.

”This is how developed countries are able to tackle their health financing and access.

”What it means is that everybody will not take ill at once. But, the financing process would be in a way that, anyone who needs it at any given time will have full access to it, because such person contributed to the scheme.

”Also, the option of health facilities to be used by a subscriber would include private hospitals. All of these are brought out to make healthcare accessible and affordable,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The governor said that the state would revamp its road ambulance scheme, with the objective of creating more ambulance points across the city.

He said that the overhauling would include deployment of emergency responders to each ambulance point to give palliative treatment to the injured before being transported to hospitals.

Sanwo-Olu said that the primary healthcare centres were being strengthened to reduce pressure on the secondary health facilities.

He also said government would be leveraging its Public Private Partnership (PPP) policy to acquire some of the advanced technologies displayed at the exhibition.

The governor said that advancement in technology had simplified various medical procedures, which decades ago could not be easily accomplished.

According to him, his administration is ready to leverage on technology to bring relief to the residents in healthcare delivery.

”So what we keep advocating to people is that they should not wait for cure. Be more preventive, try to do what we called Health Screening regularly.

”Try to exercise as much as you can, try and eat as much as you can, what we call a balanced meal, try and live a healthy balanced life.

”If you do all of those things, not only you won’t need to go to the hospital a lot, you will begin to plan, even when the body begins to age. So my advice is that everybody must take their own personal health seriously,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor sealed equipment supply deals with two firms to equip the state-owned teaching hospital with some advanced medical equipment.

The Exhibition Director, Ryan Sanderson, said that over 200 exhibitors from more than 32 countries participated in the Medic West Africa 2019.

Sanderson said they included many reputable Nigerian exhibitors and internationally recognised brands from across the healthcare and medical laboratory industries which showcased their products and services at the expo.

”It is an honour to host such a high volume of esteemed leaders that are shaping the future of the West African healthcare industry,” Sanderson said.