The Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, celebrated the official handover of the Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS) Regulatory Portal, marking the culmination of a significant partnership with the PharmAccess Foundation. The portal, developed by PharmAccess with support from the Global Fund under the Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) grant, will improve the management of health insurance in Lagos.
At a ceremony held at LASHMA’s new office, officials from both organizations gathered to celebrate the successful handover of the comprehensive web-based portal. The portal will efficiently store, manage, and retrieve data related to health insurance agencies, including registered corporate organizations, healthcare providers, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in Lagos State.
Key figures in attendance included Dr Emmanuella Zamba, Permanent Secretary of LASHMA; Mrs Njide Ndili, Country Director of PharmAccess; Mr. Tosin Awosika, Regulations Coordinator at LASHMA; Mr. Sefiu Oladejo, Technology and IT Manager at LASHMA; and Dr Ademola Ade-Serrano, Innovation Manager at PharmAccess.
Dr Emmanuella Zamba, Permanent Secretary of LASHMA, expressed her gratitude for the longstanding partnership between LASHMA and PharmAccess, highlighting the collective efforts that have brought the regulatory portal to fruition. “We appreciate all the years of collaborative efforts, and we hope that as we enter this new phase, our collaboration will be stronger, and we will create history together by demonstrating how Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can be achieved in Nigeria,” she said. Dr. Zamba stressed the importance of continued partnership in driving forward the health insurance mandate in Lagos, emphasizing that strong collaboration is key to realizing the ambitious goal of UHC.
She further underscored the critical role the regulatory portal will play in ensuring compliance and efficiency in health insurance regulation across Lagos state. “Health insurance is now mandatory, and we must be at the top of our game. Setting up this portal would help us, as it would play a pivotal role in getting health coverage for all in Lagos state.”, Dr Zamba noted. She assured that the investment made by PharmAccess would be cherished, with the portal serving its intended purpose of advancing health insurance oversight. In recognition of PharmAccess’s contributions, Dr Zamba affirmed, “PharmAccess would be remembered with their names in gold for being the first organization to support LASHMA when we started the Regulations department.”
In her address, Mrs Njide Ndili, Country Director of PharmAccess, reflected on the extensive collaboration between PharmAccess and LASHMA, which began four years ago. She praised the progress made and emphasized the importance of the regulatory portal in advancing healthcare in Lagos. “The journey started four years ago. And it is truly revolutionary now that both the NHIA Act and the LSHS Law have mandated health insurance for every Nigerian”, Ndili stated. She also expressed PharmAccess Foundation’s readiness to continue supporting LASHMA and the Lagos State government in their efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Mrs Ndili further highlighted the portal’s transformative potential in shaping the future of health insurance regulation. She pointed out that strengthening digital public infrastructure is essential to achieving UHC, and the success of the portal demonstrates how innovation and collaboration can make a difference. As PharmAccess remains committed to working alongside LASHMA, Ndili assured that the foundation will continue to be a steadfast partner in advancing the healthcare goals of Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.
Dr Ade-Serrano, who led project development, remarked on how digital technology is essential to achieving universal health coverage in Nigeria. He observed that strengthening Nigeria’s digital public infrastructure for health, as the LSHS Regulatory Portal does, would improve efficiency, enhance scalability, and ensure our public health agencies can deliver on the UHC promise.
The handover ceremony was marked by optimism and collaboration, setting a new standard for health insurance regulation and management in Lagos State. LASHMA and PharmAccess Foundation expressed their commitment to continuing their partnership to improve healthcare outcomes for all Lagosians.
PharmAccess Foundation is dedicated to improving access to quality healthcare in Nigeria and Africa through innovative multi-pronged solutions that enhance healthcare delivery.