NHIS launches GIFSHIP for Nigeria’s smooth attainment of UHC

By Gloria Essien, Abuja.

The National Health Insurance Scheme has launched an initiative known as Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP).

The Nigerian minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, launched the programme in Abuja.

He said that the new programme would address the challenges and barriers encountered during implementation of the VCSHIP, both by beneficiaries and operators.

” The programme we are gathered to present today is the Group Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme, known simply as “GIFSHIP”, a product of the lessons learned and the experience gained from implementing a previous programme, the Vital Contributors Social Health Insurance Programme (VCSHIP). This new programme addresses the challenges and barriers encountered during implementation of the VCSHIP, both by beneficiaries and operators. GIFSHIP eliminates known difficulties as it creates additional value by expanding and upgrading VCSHIP for better reach, service quality and user experience,” Dr Ehanire said.

The minister also said that GIFSHIP would eliminate known difficulties as it creates additional value by expanding and upgrading previous programmes for better reach, service quality and user experience.

“A major objective of GIFSHIP is to rapidly expand the scope of healthcare coverage in our urgent quest to attain Universal Health Coverage, for which we cannot afford to leave anyone behind. GIFSHIP offers citizens an opportunity to participate and benefit from the health insurance.The programme we are presenting here today is the outcome of wide-ranging and far-reaching reforms within the NHIS to significantly increase the fiscal space for Healthcare services,” the minister added.

On his part, the Executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Muhammed Sambo, pointed out that appealing features of the programme are: the inbuilt mechanisms to guard against moral hazard, adverse selection as well as allowing room for organizations, political office holders, donor agencies, multinational corporations, philanthropists and people in diaspora to contribute their quota towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage.

“The programme will enable individuals, families and groups to join the NHIS ecosystem and access affordable healthcare in Nigeria. Some of the appealing features of the programme are: the inbuilt mechanisms to guard against moral hazard, adverse selection as well as allowing room for organizations, political office holders, donor agencies, multinational corporations, philanthropists and people in the Diaspora to contribute their quota towards the attainment of UHC,” Prof. Sambo said.

He also said that “The GIFSHIP will leverage on the overarching e-NHIS framework which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade and which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), to be deployed in few months to come”. 

The Executive Secretary added that for Nigeria to attain universal Health Coverage, the National Health Insurance Scheme is enabling more citizens’ access to affordable health care.

Also speaking, the chairman, Nigerian Senate committee on health, senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, said that said that there is the need to expand coverage for the benefit of Nigerians.

He noted that the legislator would always support any move bring health care closer to the people.

Some of the appealing features of the programme are: the inbuilt mechanisms to guard against moral hazard, adverse selection as well as allowing room for organizations, political office holders, donor agencies, multinational corporations, philanthropists and people in diaspora to contribute their quota towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.

With GIFSHIP, people in the private sector, groups and individuals with as little as fifteen thousand naira per annum, can access National Health Insurance.

Nnenna.O