NHIS Institutes award of excellence for best graduating medical students in Nigerian universities

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has instituted awards for best graduating students in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in community Medicine in six Nigerian universities.

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The award is endowed in six federally-funded institutions selected from across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The benefiting schools include the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in the (North-West), University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in the (North-East) and the University of Jos in (North-Central). Others are the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in the (South-East), the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in the (South-South), and the University of Ibadan (UI) in the (South-West).

The awards, which commenced in the 2021/22 academic session and will run annually for the next ten years, comprise a personal laptop computer and a cash prize of N50,000 to each awardee from each of the universities.

In instituting the honours, the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof Mohammed Sambo expressed optimism that the awards will promote a culture of excellence amongst students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

“Recognition is an important resource in promoting academic excellence. We are confident that this particular NHIS’ contribution to the health care sector will inspire the all-important culture of excellence that our society is in dire need of”. Prof Sambo said.

According to Sambo, the awards will also serve to inspire interest in the study of health insurance, a system which has been globally accepted as the most potential vehicle for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a foremost health insurance agency in Nigeria.