Korede Abdullah 
Lagos Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Lagos State Government has urged residents to embrace health insurance as part of efforts to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare spending and ease pressure on public hospitals.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, made the call on Monday during an interactive session with journalists in Alausa, saying the state was moving towards insurance-based healthcare financing.
Abayomi said public hospitals remained relatively affordable because of government subsidies, but rising population, increasing patient numbers and health-worker migration were putting additional pressure on the system.
Lagos has about 350 public and 3,500 private health facilities, as well as more than 10,000 community pharmacies and patent medicine vendors, according to the commissioner.
He said health insurance should serve as a social safety net for residents, noting that Lagos became the first state to domesticate the National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022 through an executive order in July 2024.
The commissioner said the state subsidises the Ilera-Eko health insurance scheme by 90 per cent, while one per cent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund is allocated to support vulnerable residents. “Every Lagosian must carry a health insurance card to end out-of-pocket spending,” Abayomi said.
He cited national healthcare spending figures showing that Nigerians spent about N33 trillion on healthcare, with 76 per cent of payments made out of pocket and only two per cent covered by health insurance. “Health is not free; somebody must pay for it. We must change that 76 per cent to zero,” he said.
Abayomi said the state was also developing a unified health strategy involving federal, state and local governments, while prioritising healthcare infrastructure and sustainable facility designs.
He urged residents to enrol in Ilera-Eko, saying the state had developed a health system involving both government and non-government facilities.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, said the government was also working to address overcrowding, health-worker shortages and long waiting times in public hospitals. “We have improved our PHCs. We will continue to do our best to give quality care to Lagosians,” she said.
About the Author
Oluwatobi Adu 
Hope Ajayi 
