By Chioma Umeha
The Lagos State Government says it will enter into
partnership with an insurance company to roll out its Health Insurance Scheme
and end medical tourism.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris,
made this known to journalists at the end of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos
State meeting with the management of Axa Mansard Insurance Plc.
Idris said that both parties discussed issues of
mutual interest specifically in the area of ending medical tourism and the
state Health Insurance Scheme to be rolled out soon.
“The Mansard Group is willing to partner with the
state government to reverse the trend of medical tourism which is in line with
what this administration has started doing.
“They have expressed their interest to partner
with us on our health insurance scheme which we are rolling out very soon.
“The state government is playing the role of an
enabler.
“We are providing financing mechanism to the
health sector which is one of the key ingredients to the functioning of the
health sector and without that, we cannot make any progress,” Idris said.
Also, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, the Chief Executive
Officer, Mansard Insurance, said “We are here to show our intention to partner
with the state government in the area of healthcare delivery.
“We are about putting in place a world-class 150
beds hospital in Lekki.
“We are going to have some Primary Healthcare
Centres in Mainland area of Lagos and from there, we will go to entire Nigeria.
“Our intention is to make Lagos a medical tourism
centre where people in the sub-Saharan Africa will come to Nigeria to receive
healthcare instead of going to places like India,” Ilori said.
In his remarks, the firm’s Chief Client Officer,
Mr Tosin Runsewe, said that the visit to Gov. Ambode was also to appreciate all
the state government had done in the last two years.