The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has entered into strategic partnerships with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Service Compact with All Nigerians (SERVICOM) to make Nigeria’s health insurance system more transparent, data-driven, and responsive to citizens’ needs.
The agreements, signed in Abuja, are designed to address two major challenges in the country’s health insurance landscape, weak data management and poor service accountability — by promoting evidence-based planning and creating stronger feedback channels for enrollees.
The Director-General of NHIA, Kelechi Ohiri, said the partnerships form part of a broader reform agenda to make the agency more people-centered and performance-driven.
“You cannot improve what you cannot measure. By working with the National Bureau of Statistics, we will ensure our programmes are guided by accurate data, not assumptions,” Ohiri said. “This will help us identify what’s working, where the gaps are, and how to fix them”.
According to him, the collaboration with NBS will support data sharing, joint research, and capacity-building initiatives tailored to Nigeria’s health priorities, ensuring that NHIA policies reflect the realities of citizens — particularly the poor and vulnerable.
The second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed with SERVICOM, focuses on improving the service experience for health insurance beneficiaries. It will strengthen existing mechanisms for complaints, feedback, and redress, ensuring that enrollees receive quality and timely services under the national health insurance scheme.
Ohiri said the partnerships mark a significant step toward transforming NHIA into a citizen-responsive health agency, guided by measurable outcomes and accountability standards. He noted that these reforms align with the Federal Government’s goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through a more efficient, transparent, and people-oriented system.
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