The Igbajo Achievers Lions Club has called for the inclusion of children living with cancer and sickle cell anaemia in the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) and Osun Health Insurance Agency (OSHIA), stressing the need for comprehensive coverage to ease the burden on affected families.
Speaking during an advocacy visit to the NHIA and OSHIA office, in Osogbo, the Club Service Chairperson, Lion O.K. Faniran, said the visit was aimed at pushing for policies that would improve access to healthcare for vulnerable children.
He noted that the engagement with NHIA officials provided valuable insights, revealing that the agency is already making efforts toward expanding coverage, adding that there are ongoing interventions for cancer patients across different age groups, as well as existing healthcare packages that cater to such conditions to some extent.
He said, “we are here today on an advocacy visit to the state coordinator and his team, and our main purpose is to advocate for the inclusion of the NHIS coverage of children living with cancer and sickle cell anemia.
“Our visit here has enlightened us because the discussion we had that NHIA is already working towards providing coverage and at the moment there is an intervention for cancer not necessarily childhood cancer but people of all ages who are living with cancer, and at the moment we are made to understand that there are packages that cover those health conditions to some extent.
Faniran, however, emphasized that more needs to be done, particularly for children, urging the authority to move beyond partial support to full coverage.
He added that, “so what we are advocating for is the total coverage to really halivate the suffering of the parent who have people leaving with cancer and sickle cell anemia.”
In his remarks the Head of Programs at the NHIA Osogbo Office, Agunbiade Musa, disclosed that the Federal Government, through the NHIA, has developed several interventions aimed at supporting cancer patients across all age groups, adding the that individuals living with sickle cell anaemia are covered under the NHIA, provided they are properly enrolled in the scheme.
