Society for Family Health (SFH), a public health organisation, says it will facilitate the enrolment of 1.9 million people living with HIV into the national health insurance system.
The Managing Director, Omokhudu Idogho, made the commitment in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.
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Mr Idogho also reaffirmed the organisation’s support to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in the next implementation phase, which incorporates comprehensive HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and Family Planning (FP) services.
According to him, the phase includes convening stakeholder sessions to map NHIA-accredited facilities offering HIV, TB and FP services, as well as supporting the treatment of an estimated 500,000 annual TB cases under the insurance scheme.
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“SFH will also contribute to strengthening commodity supply and logistics for HIV, TB and FP services within the insurance framework,” he said.
“It will also support NHIA in enhancing its Quality Assurance System to ensure adherence to national protocols and international best practices.”
Mr Idogho recalled that in March 2023, SFH and NHIA co-convened a multi-stakeholder workshop to define the HIV, TB and FP service packages to be integrated into health insurance.
He added that the three-day workshop concluded with the development of comprehensive service packages and the establishment of three technical working groups to further refine the framework.
“By June 2023, with NHIA’s guidance, SFH engaged an internationally licensed health actuary with extensive experience working in Nigeria,” he said.
“Cost data was collected from public and private facilities across the six geopolitical zones, forming the basis for the development of an actuarial model.”
He added that the model was validated by stakeholders and presented to NHIA leadership, which used the findings to advance a full actuarial analysis of the national health insurance package and revise the National Basic Minimum Package of Healthcare.
This, he added, was to fully integrate HIV, TB and FP services.
“Additionally, NHIA worked with the Ministerial Oversight Committee to review and update the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
“This led to the launch of BHCPF 2.0 by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare with the new benefit package officially incorporating comprehensive HIV, TB and FP services,” he said.
Mr Idogho said that for more than 40 years, SFH had championed responses to HIV, TB, malaria and reproductive health challenges, including FP.
He, however, noted that with diminishing donor funding, the organisation recognised the need for sustainable financing mechanisms to ensure continuity of services.
He said this informed the organisation’s advocacy approach to NHIA, proposing the integration of these services into the national health insurance system.
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“Following this advocacy, NHIA welcomed SFH’s proposal and requested technical assistance to design comprehensive benefit packages, conduct actuarial analyses, and develop resource mobilisation strategies,” he said.
“This partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in February 2023, marking the beginning of a significant collaboration aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s health insurance coverage.”
He said SFH also presented an award to the Director-General of NHIA, Kelechi Ohiri, in recognition of his leadership and commitment to integrating comprehensive HIV, TB and FP services into the national health insurance framework.
According to him, the milestone reflects NHIA’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and signals the federal government’s readiness to sustain the fight against HIV and TB and expand FP services, even as donor funding declines. (NAN)
