National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has commenced campaign in
Kano State communities to mobilise participation in the newly introduced Group, Individual and Family
Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP).
GIFSHIP is a health insurance package specifically designed to give easy coverage to Nigerians not
covered in already existing insurance packages.
The NHIS Zonal Coordinator of Zone B in Kano, Alhaji Ibrahim Labbo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
in Kano on Thursday that the programme was designed to enable Nigerians from the informal sector and
communities to participate in the NHIS scheme.
He said that the scheme had organised stakeholders’ forum and embarked on community sensitisation to create
awareness and mobilise participation in the new programme.
Labbo added that the programme focused on enrollment of artisans, farmers, members of trade unions and cooperative societies.
Others are existing enrollees who want to register other members of their families.
He explained that “an individual, group or organisation can enroll for GIFSHIP programme. You can register a maximum
of three persons as an individual at the rate of N15,000 per person.
“Groups and organisations can also register four or more people at the rate of N15,000 per person.
“The payment is for a period of one year during which the enrollee can access services offered under the scheme.
“We want to enroll as many people as possible to accelerate Universal Health Coverage (UHC).”
The NHIS Coordinator in Kano State, Mr Muhammad Isiaku, told NAN that the scheme embarked on media campaign to
expand its outreach in rural communities to encourage enrollment.
Isiaku said the scheme captured more than 100,000 enrollees under the formal sector and registered 740 Health Management
Organisations in the 44 local government areas of the state. (NAN)
