Society for Family Health (SFH), a leading public health organization, says it will support the enrollment of 1.9 million people living with HIV into the national health insurance system.
The Managing Director, Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.
He reaffirmed SFH’s commitment to supporting the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in the next implementation phase, which integrates comprehensive HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and Family Planning (FP) services into the national insurance package.
According to him, the new phase includes convening stakeholder sessions to map NHIA-accredited facilities offering HIV, TB and FP services, as well as supporting the treatment of an estimated 500,000 TB cases annually under the insurance scheme.
“SFH will also contribute to strengthening commodity supply and logistics for HIV, TB and FP services within the insurance framework.
“It will further support NHIA in enhancing its Quality Assurance System to ensure adherence to national protocols and international best practices,” he said.
Idogho recalled that in March 2023, SFH and NHIA co-hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop to define the HIV, TB and FP service packages for integration into health insurance.
He said the three-day workshop produced comprehensive service packages and established three technical working groups to refine the framework.
“By June 2023, with NHIA’s guidance, SFH engaged an internationally licensed health actuary with extensive experience in Nigeria.
“Cost data from public and private facilities across the six geopolitical zones formed the basis for developing an actuarial model,” he added.
He said the model was validated by stakeholders and submitted to NHIA leadership, which used it to undertake a full actuarial analysis of the national health insurance package and revise the National Basic Minimum Package of Healthcare to fully integrate HIV, TB and FP services.
He noted that NHIA also worked with the Ministerial Oversight Committee to review and update the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), leading to the launch of BHCPF 2.0 by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, which now includes comprehensive HIV, TB and FP services.
Idogho stated that for more than 40 years, SFH had led responses to HIV, TB, malaria and reproductive health challenges, including family planning.
He said the decline in donor funding made sustainable domestic financing crucial, prompting SFH’s advocacy for integrating these services into the national health insurance system.
Following this advocacy, NHIA requested SFH’s technical support to design benefit packages, conduct actuarial analyses and develop resource-mobilisation strategies. The collaboration was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2023.
He added that SFH recently presented an award to NHIA Director-General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, in recognition of his leadership and commitment to expanding comprehensive HIV, TB and FP services under the national insurance framework.
Idogho said the milestone demonstrates NHIA’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage and reflects the Federal Government’s readiness to sustain the fight against HIV and TB, while expanding access to FP services despite shrinking donor support.
