The Executive Secretary of NHIS, Professor Mohammed Nasir Sambo, recently flagged-off a Capacity building exercise for staff of the Scheme to appropriately empower them in the build up to achieving an ICT-driven NHIS.
The first two editions of the training, being conducted by Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), the training arm of NCC, took place at the Abuja Centre of the Institute. The ES, Prof M.N Sambo was in the first batch of students, and was well applauded by DBI as being punctual and diligently applying himself throughout the whole process of the one-week exercise with the theme “Infograghics and Visual Communication Using Microsoft PowerPoint”.
The training has since been extended to field staff drawn from Zonal and State offices in the week of 17th-21st August, 2020 at the IDB centres in Abuja, Lagos and Kano.
Many more staff will benefit from subsequent editions of the Digital Literacy Training programme.
The Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire came on a working visit to the Corporate Headquaters of the Scheme on Friday, August 21st, 2020.
He inspected the Data and Customer Sercive Centres at the Wuse 2 Annex of the Scheme, noting with pleasure the high demand of the Sceme’s services indicated by the high volume of prospective enrollees he witnessed at the Customer service centre.
He later inspected the site of the new Head Office complex of the Scheme, adjacent the current Headquarters building in Utako.
The Minister rounded up the visit with a meeting with the Management of the agency, where he described the quantum and pace of accomplishments of the Reforms under Prof Sambo in just one year as “satisfactory progress”.
He reminded the management of the Scheme that President Muhammadu Buhari, and indeed Nigerians, are in a hurry for results from the transformation of NHIS. He therefore urged the Scheme to intensify efforts in implementing the on-going reforms.
The NHIS Boss, Professor M.N Sambo underlined the significance of collaboration with the Media in the implementation of NHIS by hosting a cross section of Editors to a Lunch interaction at Radisson Hotel, Lagos on Saturday, 22nd August, 2020.
He emphasised the readiness of NHIS under his watch to work closely with the media for accurate and timely information management to achieve mass awareness, eliminate reputation risks and increase demand generation for health insurance in the country.
He used the occasion to update the media top notchers on the reform activities of his administration, as well as field questions on various issues around the operations of the Scheme.
Credence was given to the attractiveness of the new NHIS as the Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, broke a jinx by being the first Governor in the country to have visited NHIS in its history.
He paid a courtesy call to the Executive Secretary of NHIS, Professor M.N. Sambo, in Abuja.
The Governor solicited the support and collaboration of NHIS to extend the frontiers of Zamfara health insurance agency, in order to improve the health standard of the people of the state.
Prof Sambo assured the governor of the readiness of the Scheme to work with the state to improve health outcomes in the state. He cited the new conceptual framework called ‘Health Insurance Under One Roof’ as a platform for the strengthening, coordination and regulation of service standards and benefits in the Nigerian health insurance ecosystem.
The Scheme hosted a delegation of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO delegation, which was visiting for the second time under Prof Sambo’s administration, came to extend and deepen collaborations with the Scheme particularly in the area providing support for the Scheme in the crucial area of actuarial analysis.
In a related development, the NHIS is advancing collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), to review Treatment and Referral Protocol for the Scheme. The partner met with officials of the Scheme on the 25th of August, 2020, during which it explored intensifying its work with NHIS in strengthening the State Health Insurance Agencies, as well as improving access to effective healthcare services for the people of Nigeria.