The General Manager, Roche Nigeria, Ladi Hameed (left) with Director General, NHIA, Mohammed Sambo, in Abuja on Monday.
About 55 cancer patients who may have lost hope in their situation were granted access to innovative treatment and affordable medicines through the landmark partnership between the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and a healthcare firm, Roche.
Details of the partnership, the spokesperson of the NHIA, Emmanuel Ononokpono, said on Monday ensures that affordable cancer medicines are made available to beneficiaries through an agreed costs sharing system between the two organisations.
Ononokpono said within the scope of that arrangement, Roche would pay 50 percent of the cost of treatment for the patient, while the NHIA would take care of 30 percent and the patient 20 percent.
Speaking at the presentation of the progress report of the partnership, the Director General, NHIA, Mohammed Sambo acknowledged the positive impact of the partnership.
“This partnership shows that it is helping Nigerians affected by cancer to proactively avoid financial hardship by supporting them to focus on the most important thing of all: their healthcare.
“We are very pleased with the impact this is having, and this is why we are going to henceforth focus on rolling this out even further, by expanding to more centres nationwide.
“I also want to use this opportunity to remind everyone that health insurance under NHIA is available to all Nigerians. We have offices across the country for purposes of enrollment so that they can access innovative treatments as being implemented under the partnership,” he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the General Manager, Roche Nigeria, Ladi Hameed, commended NHIA for making the partnership possible.
“The barriers that are preventing access are persistent and complex, but they are solvable, and together we are making a difference.
“Roche is very proud to partner with the NHIA to make innovative treatments broadly, rapidly and equitably accessible to Nigerians, when they need them. We commit to continuing this partnership, and to contributing to bold solutions that support sustainable health ecosystems and a future where every Nigerian can access world-class Healthcare,” Hameed said.
Ononokpono who gave the background to the partnership told reporters that it was inspired by three themes: the need for patients to access medicines for diagnostic solutions, the need for capacity building and the need for policy advocacy.
“We clearly see that patients are starting to get the access that they need. The 55 patients who received innovative cancer care through the partnership were enrollees of the NHIA and patients in the seven pilot medical centres; University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), University College Hospital(UCH) and the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.
Roche, one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world.
