The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has reiterated his administration’s commitment to affordable healthcare services as the state intensifies efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in South-West Nigeria.
The governor made the pledge on Monday while declaring open the maiden National Summit of State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs) at the International Culture and Event Centre in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The summit brought together policymakers, health insurance managers, development partners and government officials from across Nigeria to discuss strategies for expanding health insurance coverage amid prevailing economic challenges.
Speaking on the theme, “Economic Realities and the Universal Health Coverage Dream: Mobilising States for Scalable Health Insurance,” Aiyedatiwa said social health insurance remains critical to protecting citizens from rising healthcare costs and ensuring equitable access to medical services.
He noted that his administration had expanded healthcare coverage through the Ondo State Contributory Health Commission, with programmes targeting public servants, informal sector workers, mothers, children and vulnerable residents.
Reaffirming his administration’s inclusive approach to healthcare, the governor announced the formal inclusion of retirees in the state’s Orange Health Insurance Scheme, with the government assuming full responsibility for their enrolment.
According to him, the initiative will provide pensioners with access to consultations, treatment, medication and specialised healthcare services without financial burden.
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Aiyedatiwa also announced the approval of a N1 billion Hospital Intervention Fund aimed at expanding and modernising healthcare facilities across the state to improve service delivery.
The governor said Ondo had also become the first state in Nigeria to implement the newly approved salary structure for health workers, alongside ongoing recruitment efforts to strengthen the healthcare workforce.
He urged State Social Health Insurance Agencies across the country to sustain reforms that would improve access to affordable healthcare and accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, said rising out-of-pocket healthcare spending continued to expose many Nigerians to financial hardship.
Ohiri stressed that expanding health insurance coverage remains essential to protecting citizens from catastrophic health expenditure and achieving universal health coverage nationwide.
