The director-general of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri has announced the onboarding of five additional healthcare facilities in Lagos State under the Financial Access to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) programme.
Ohiri disclosed in a statement issued to journalists at the weekend in Abuja.
According to him, the newly onboarded facilities are Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, General Hospital Gbagada, Surulere General Hospital, General Hospital Apapa and General Hospital Ikorodu.
He said the inclusion of these institutions followed agreements reached during a recent engagement between the NHIA and the Lagos State Ministry of Health. The meeting brought together key leaders from both bodies, including the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.
“The NHIA’s Financing Access to CEmOC programme, launched in September 2024, is an innovative health financing mechanism focused on reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, particularly among vulnerable populations,” Ohiri explained.
“The initiative addresses the third delay in maternal healthcare – the delay in accessing timely and adequate treatment – by ensuring that women experiencing obstetric complications can receive life-saving care exactly when and where they need it.”
He added that the onboarding process involved thorough facility walkthroughs by NHIA and CEmOC teams to assess readiness for programme implementation. Departments assessed included obstetrics and gynaecology, maternity ward, pharmacy, family planning clinic, medical records, social welfare and finance and accounts.
Ohiri noted that the programme targets indigent and vulnerable women at risk of life-threatening obstetric complications such as pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, haemorrhage, prolonged or obstructed labour, sepsis, post-abortion complications and emergencies requiring caesarean sections.
In addition to emergency obstetric services, the programme also covers postpartum reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services, including family planning, while supporting health insurance enrolment to promote continued access to care.
“With the addition of these five facilities, a total of nine hospitals in Lagos State are now implementing the CEmOC programme,” Ohiri said.
Commenting on the development, the chief medical director of General Hospital Ikorodu, Dr. Taiwo Hassan described the programme as both strategic and essential for providing critical maternal care.
“This initiative is poised to deliver meaningful, measurable improvements in maternal health outcomes in our facility and beyond,” he stated.
NHIA state coordinator for the Ikeja office, Dr. Abraham Bethuel-Kassimue, emphasised that the programme is a crucial component of the Federal Government’s broader objective to ensure that no woman is left behind in accessing quality maternal healthcare.
He said the partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Health would help identify and enrol eligible beneficiaries and significantly reduce maternal deaths across the state.
NHIA state coordinator for the Yaba office, Rita Chukwu reaffirmed that the selected facilities are equipped and ready to deliver emergency maternal health services, adding that the initiative would foster long-term resilience and sustainability in Lagos State’s maternal health system.
