PharmAccess mobilizes public and private resources for the benefit of doctors and patients through clinical standards and quality improvements, loans for healthcare providers, health insurance, mHealth innovations and operational research.
On Tuesday 21 July, the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), the Kwara State Government, Hygeia Community Health Care and PharmAccess organised a conference in Ilorin on the Kwara State Health Insurance Program.
Click here to read the full conference report.
Over 400 people attended the conference, including the Deputy Governor of Kwara State, His Royal
Highness, The Emir of Shonga and representatives from the Kwara State Government, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the World Bank, Ogun, Delta, Lagos and Ekiti States, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Well Being Foundation Africa, Country Coordination Mechanism of the Global Fund (CCM), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Nigerian Medical Association and local government areas and diverse ministries of Kwara State.
The main outcomes of the impact evaluation of the Kwara State Health Insurance Program are that more people are able to reduce out-of pocket health expenditure as well as increased access to affordable quality healthcare. This translated into better health outcomes as measured by the researchers for maternal and child health and hypertension. Better access to quality care through insurance led to a significant drop in blood pressure of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, while more babies were delivered in the safe environment of a hospital.
Kwara State has become the second-best performing state in Nigeria in maternal and child care according to the 2008-2013 Heat Map analysis of Mother and Child care by the World Bank’s country office in Nigeria. Another important aspect of the research project was the research capacity building in Kwara State. The research partners invested in the research capacity of UITH and in Ogo Oluwa Clinic: new research facilities, equipment such as computers, ECG machines and other medical appliances; training health workers, nurses and researchers; provide exchange opportunities for Ph.D students; technical support for resident doctors and consultants from different fields.
