Health
Lagos expands health insurance coverage, targets universal healthcare
By Odinaka Anudu
Lagos State Government has intensified efforts to achieve universal health coverage by expanding mandatory health insurance and introducing new financing mechanisms aimed at making healthcare more accessible and affordable to residents.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed that more than 1.5m residents have enrolled in the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme, describing health insurance as the foundation of the state’s drive towards Universal Health Coverage.
Speaking at the second edition of the Eko Health Convention in Lagos on Friday, Sanwo-Olu said the government was focused on building sustainable healthcare institutions capable of providing quality and affordable services beyond the lifespan of any administration.
He said the reforms were designed to ensure that residents could access healthcare irrespective of their income levels or location.
The governor recalled that his administration signed an executive order in July 2024 domesticating the National Health Insurance Authority Act in Lagos, thereby making health insurance mandatory across the state.
According to him, the rise in insurance enrolment has resulted in increased utilisation of healthcare services, while the government is introducing measures to make insurance premiums easier for residents to pay.
One of the measures is the Ilera Eko EasyPay platform, which allows enrollees to pay their health insurance premiums in instalments rather than making a single payment.
Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the state’s Equity Fund, which supports the payment of insurance premiums for vulnerable residents. The initiative is designed to ensure that people who may not be able to afford premiums are not excluded from the state’s health insurance system.
Another intervention is named the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme Assistance in Distress, which aims to provide emergency patients with access to treatment while payment and insurance-related issues are being resolved.
The governor said the measures reflected the administration’s objective of making healthcare a right accessible to all residents rather than a privilege available only to those who can afford it.
“Our goal is to ensure that healthcare is not a privilege for a few but a right for every resident of Lagos,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The state government is also linking its insurance expansion with broader reforms in healthcare delivery, including investment in infrastructure, digital medical records and improved healthcare workforce capacity.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had decentralised healthcare administration into six health districts to improve planning, accountability and access to services, while several major hospital projects are nearing completion.
The government is equally implementing the Smart Health Information Platform, which will integrate patient records across primary healthcare centres, general hospitals and teaching hospitals.
According to the governor, the digital system will use electronic medical records, artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve diagnosis, disease surveillance, emergency response and policymaking.
He said the reforms would complement the expansion of health insurance by improving the quality and efficiency of services available to insured residents.
Sanwo-Olu also called for greater participation from private investors and development partners, noting that government funding alone would not be sufficient to meet the healthcare needs of Lagos, one of Africa’s largest cities.
Earlier, Deputy Governor Kadri Hamzat said sustained reforms over the past seven years had strengthened Lagos’ capacity to deliver healthcare services.
Hamzat identified the decentralisation of healthcare administration through the six Health Districts as one of the administration’s most significant reforms, saying it had improved accountability, planning and community-based healthcare delivery.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the Eko Health Convention provided an opportunity to assess progress under the Lagos State Health Sector Strategic Master Plan.
President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Njide Ndili, reaffirmed the private sector’s “willingness to work with the Lagos government to expand universal health coverage through stronger public-private partnerships.”
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