Heavy administrative charges and bureaucracy among identity managers have slowed the spread of the National Mobile Health Insurance Programme since it was launched in 2014, acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Femi Akingbade, has said.

 

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Akingbade who was appointed acting executive secretary of the organization in April this year said NHIS had “not been optimally providing” the mobile health insurance payments, adding that fees coming to them from agreed distribution of funds were being sucked by administrative charges on mobile network operators.

 

“One of the things that is happening is that we are having delivery failure because the stakeholders seem not to totally agree with the payments and fees that are coming to them based on the agreed distribution of the funds that are being contributed,”

 

Akingbade said, The mobile health insurance would require NHIS to tap into teledensity of nearly 120 million Nigerians registered on mobile networks as well link phone numbers to existing data already captured by operators during SIM card registration.

 

“We need to collaborate with the Nigerian Communication Commission, National Identity Management Corporation, Mobile Network Operators, and lots of other agencies that are into identity management and that actually slowed the process which we are actually working on,” said Akingbade.

 

NHIS access to the database would preclude it capturing fresh biometrics for any new enrolee of the mobile health insurance.

 

“One of the things that we are still trying to work on and implore NCC to do is to release that data base for us for access to those data as it saves us a lot in recreating the wheel.

 

“They have already done a biometric registration and they have the details of the people that own these phones. What we are now saying is that if somebody that owns a phone wants to register for NMHIP, please give me the data so that I don’t need to go ahead to start capturing a new biometric data,” explained Akingbade.

 

NHIS has promised to directly reimburse those already registered for mobile health insurance when they visit hospitals. Some 20 Lagos hospitals were chosen to pilot the reimbursement of mobile health insurance carriers whose health cover is tangled in disagreements among network operators and identity managers.

 

“But I’m sure that with time, we are going to do a national launch and all accredited facilities under the NHIS would be able to render service in the nearest future,” Akingbade said.

 

 

From Dele Ogunyemi, IbadanThe Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso (LTH) has urged the Oyo State government to show more commitment towards the institution.

 

They said that full utilisation of the hospital’s facilities would benefit the state and its environs.

 

Chairman of the association, Dr Taiwo Akingbile told newsmen in Ogbomoso that human capacity development could be achieved when parameters are put in place to ensure uninterrupted health service provision, training as well as adequate welfare of staff.

 

“We urge the Oyo State government to ensure sustainable and renewed commitment towards LTH Ogbomoso so that this laudable monumental project is a success,” he said.

 

The chairman said that the hospital which was established in 2011 was equipped with state of the art equipment used in modern medical and surgical health care.

 

The association also recommended that government should establish a proper hospital management board, maintenance of the hospital’s infrastructure to prevent decay and government’s full support for residency training program.

 

The doctors also conducted newsmen round some of the newly installedequipment, in the hospital such as Computerised Tomography scan machine, 3-dimensional Ultrasound scanning machine and Renal dialysis machine. Others are laparascopes, endoscopes and laboratory facilities for various haematological, pathological and biochemical tests. 

 

While noting that the workers of the institution had only been paid January and February salaries this year, Akingbile urged the Oyo State government to pay the March salaries, which other state workers had been paid.By Ojoma Akor Audit Manager of the Global Fund (GF) Daniel Petrescuhas called on the government and other stakeholders to continue to contribute in the fight against Tubercluosis, HIV and malaria. He made the call when he led a delegation from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Global Fund on a visit to some health facilities which the organization funds through the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and National Agency for the Control of AIDS(NACA).

 

The three-man Geneva Global Fund Team visited St.Mary’s Catholic Hospital Gwagwalada, Wuse General Hospital and Primary Health Center, Piyakasa, all in the Federal Capital Territory to assess the quality of health care delivery and proper use of resources provided. They also looked into registers for evidence of improvement made. 

 

While commending the health facilities, Petrescu said there is always room for improvement. “That is why the Global Fund is here but we realized that we cannot do this alone and urge the government and all other implementing partners to continue to contribute in the area of funding, technical expertise and knowledge in this fight against TB, HIV and malaria as we all have a part to play,” he said.

 

Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) Senior Program Officer Medical, Dr. Vivian Ibeziako, said that the outcome of the visit would determine the continuity of the GF funding of the TB/HIV and malaria fight in the country.

 

During the visit, managers of health facilities also shared their challenges of manpower shortage, lack of consumables, and need for more funding and a comprehensive TB clinic.

 

IHVN is a Sub-Recipient to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria with NACA as the Principal Recipient.

 

By Judd-Leonard Okafor & Victoria Onehi

Daily Trust