Erstwhile Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Dr Waziri Dogo Mohammed who was unceremoniously denied a second term in office despite excellent ministerial recommendation to President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2012, has been named among four Congress Ambassadors specially invited to an International Conference on Access to Health Insurance which held at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on June 4- 5, 2012.
The invitation-only conference is the initiative of H.R.H Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) and Chair of the Curatorium of the Prince Claus Chair, and Professor Stella Quimbo.
The conference convened international researchers, practitioners and policy-makers engaged in advancing broader access to health insurance to discuss the dilemmas that affect the availability and sustainability of (micro-) health insurance, particularly in resource-poor and weak states.
Speakers include H.R.H. Princess Máxima of the Netherlands; Professor Stella Quimbo, the 2011-2013 Prince Claus Chair for Development and Equity at the International Institute of Social Studies/ Erasmus University Rotterdam; Rob Swartbol, Deputy General for International Cooperation of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Professor Jacques van der Gaag of the Brooking Institute/AIID.
Information from the conference website which announced the special invitation of Dr Dogo Mohammed said the conference was under the auspices of The Prince Claus Curatorium, the International Institute of Social Studies, the Institute of Health Management and Policy of Erasmus University, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PharmAccess and the Rotterdam Global Health Initiative.
The programme also featured a special Speakers’ Dinner hosted by International Institute of Social Studies and the Prince Claus Foundation where HRH Princess Maxima of The Netherlands was in attendance.
Dr Dogo Mohammed’s role in laying a solid foundation for the effective take-off of the NHIS and initiating and implementing a series of special programmes which actualized and broadened the participation of Nigerians from all works of life, apart from civil servants was acclaimed across the country and included in President Goodluck Jonathan’s Neighbour-to-Neighbour campaigns and listed under achievements of his administration.
His second-tenure was strongly recommended to the President by the Health Minister but denied without any official explanation as he was tersely directed to hand-over and leave, despite President Goodluck Jonathan’s well publicized promise to uphold merit in federal appointments. Since February, the NHIS has been without a substantive Executive Secretary while President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive for the publication of vacancy in NHIS and FIRS top positions is yet to be implemented three months later.
This is similar to the latest appointment of Hajia Amina Az-zubair who was also abruptly dropped as President Jonathan’s Senior Special Adviser on MDGs, last year as UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Post 2015 Development Planning.
