By Chioma Umeha
Following the growing cost of medical care with
out-of-pocket payments, the Lagos State Government has today commenced free
medical mission to provide free healthcare services to residents of Lagos
across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris,
who said this on Monday at a news conference in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest
Nigeria said that the free
healthcare, under the Lagos State Medical Mission,
would commence on March 1 and end on June 8, 2017.
Idris said the programme over the years had helped
to complement health service
delivery in the state, aside helping government to
take healthcare to the grassroots and undeserved areas of Lagos State, by
addressing pressing health
issues of the rural communities in the state.
The State Health boss said: “These medical
missions are significant because it will enable this administration to provide
healthcare services to all who come irrespective of their age, gender,
socio-economic status and affiliations.”
The commissioner added that the medical teams
providing these services were competent professionals committed to ensuring
that the mandate of the state government was fully realised.
Idris stated that the vision of sustainable
healthcare and universal coverage demanded that the state adopted an approach
that was not only efficient, but also effective in addressing the growing
health demand of Lagos megacity.
He said: “With a teeming population of over 22
million residents, the healthcare demands of this urban population are growing
at an exponential rate, and as the cost of care with out-of-pocket payments are
also increasing, the economic burden on our citizens are becoming more
unbearable by the day. This cannot be allowed to continue.
“With the current economic downturn, the free
health policy of the state has become inefficient to addressing these issues.
Lagos residents will require a safety net to be in place to improve the health
outcome of all residents, especially the most vulnerable in the society, as
well as significantly reduce out-of-pocket payment that persists in Nigeria.
“Hence, it has become imperative that we provide
adequate financial protection for our citizens through the Lagos State Health
Insurance Scheme. This health insurance scheme will take off this year and will
be made mandatory for all residents of the state.”
Idris said the state government was working
tirelessly to ensure that all citizens had healthcare coverage and that this
was one of the current strategies designed to address this.”
