Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu says he has so far approved N750 Million from the equity fund for the payment of health insurance premiums for 100,000 vulnerable and indigent residents.
According to him, this is in line with the goal of ensuring universal health coverage for all.
Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Wednesday while flagging off a Town Hall meeting with the beneficiaries of the health insurance equity fund organized by the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA).
She said the equity fund which is funded through the 1 % (percent) set aside from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) was to ensure that a sizeable proportion of the population who could not afford health insurance premiums.
“Through this effort, the government provides financial protection to the poor when they seek healthcare services to boost their purchasing capacities and stimulate economic growth. The Ilera Eko Equity Fund is part of the effort by the State government to provide social protection to the poor.
“Similar initiatives have also been launched including Maternal Infant Child Development and the Social Welfare Integrated Program Initiative (SWIPI). Most recently, Mr. Governor also launched an integrated social protection policy for the State government.
“Since the inception of this administration, Mr. Governor has approved the payment of over N750,000,000 which has been used to pay the health insurance premiums of 100,000 residents of the State. In the short term, this has facilitated access to healthcare by a group of people who cannot afford to go to the hospital and, in the long term, will improve the health outcomes in the State,” the First Lady said.
The Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi commended the attention devoted to the health and wellbeing of residents by the Governor, saying it was on record that the present administration has deployed numerous health initiatives to improve the standard of living and quality of life of the people.
He commended LASHMA for the great efforts to improve access to healthcare services, just as he revealed that the agency was on the verge of rolling out an innovative health financing initiative to raise funds from philanthropists, organizations, and donors to crowdfund health insurance premiums and adoption of indigents and the vulnerable on the scheme.
