Insure your lives not just properties- Prof Apakama tells Nigerians

Professor Uchenna Apakama, a pharmacist, has raised an alarm that only five to eight per cent of Nigerians currently enjoy health insurance coverage, advising Nigerians to insure their lives and not just only properties. 

Apakama, who is the Chairman of the Board of Fellows of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, BOF-PSNHe gave the advice while addressing participants at the mid-year meeting of the board in Lagos with the title, “Insurance-Based Healthcare Financing: Key to Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria”. 

Apakama in a statement made available to DAILY POST after the meeting on Saturday, urged Nigerians to insure their lives and forestall unforseen circumstances.

He said Nigeria’s low insurance penetration has continued to fuel poverty and other social menaces, noting that families are forced to finance healthcare from personal savings whenever illness strikes.

He stressed that affordable and comprehensive health insurance must no longer be regarded as a privilege but as a fundamental pillar of national development and social protection.

Apakama, who lamented Nigeria’s poor health insurance coverage, warned that millions of citizens remain one illness away from financial ruin because they still pay for healthcare directly from their pockets.

He stressed that affordable and comprehensive health insurance must no longer be regarded as a privilege. 

He added that it should be a fundamental pillar of national development and social protection.

Apakama also urged members of the National Assembly to dedicate part of their constituency intervention funds to sponsoring health insurance premiums for vulnerable Nigerians.

He also appealed to labour unions, professional associations, market organisations, transport unions and community groups to embrace group health insurance enrolment as a sustainable means of expanding coverage across the country.

He said, “Only between five and eight per cent of Nigerians currently enjoy health insurance coverage, leaving traders, artisans, transport workers, market women and millions of other citizens exposed to catastrophic medical expenses.

“The country’s low insurance penetration has continued to fuel poverty, as families are forced to finance healthcare from personal savings whenever illness strikes.”

Insure your lives not just properties- Prof Apakama tells Nigerians