Nigeria (Commonwealth Union)_ The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that it would soon start covering 30 percent of the entire cost of cancer treatment for patients in order to alleviate the financial burden and promote healthy living in Nigeria. The news was announced by Ahmed Yahaya, coordinator of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Kwara State. As a representative of the federal government, Yahaya made his address at the stakeholders’ conference of the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Health Care Facilities (HCFs), and Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), organized in the state capital of Ilorin.
Yahaya said: “Cancer drugs are very expensive, thus, the authority deemed it fit to save the lives of the people by not only treating patients but also covering a portion of the cost of the drugs. It is a way of reducing the cost of drugs for the cancer patients under the scheme. Cancer medications are expensive, so that is why the authority is collaborating with ROCHE pharmaceutical company”. He added: “NHIA will fund 30 percent of cancer drugs, the patient will contribute 20 percent, and pharmaceutical companies will fund 50 percent of the cost of the drugs.”
Regarding the forum, he stated that it is part of the authority’s agenda to organize and engage with stakeholders to discuss best practices expected from them and the agency’s mission. He added that Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche is an international healthcare firm based in Switzerland and operates globally. Yahaya also highlighted that the authority is revitalizing and enhancing the organization’s mandate to guarantee that all Nigerians are included in the health system, while noting that the authority’s new Act has assured that diseases such as cancer are included in the program.
In addition, Adelaja Abereoran, the General Manager of the North Central ‘A’ Zonal Office for Kwara, Kogi, and Niger, noted that the purpose of the event is to inform the stakeholders about the new Act of the Authority. He also announced that health insurance is now compulsory for all Nigerians, and that NHIA is anticipated to cover the whole population.
