FG Endorses Health Insurance Scheme for Creative Industry

The federal government has endorsed a new unified Healthcare and Life Insurance Scheme for the movie and creative industry as efforts to enhance access to affordable health services by its members and avoid preventable deaths to chronic illnesses.

The government’s endorsement is on the heels of the call by a preferred provider of health organisation for implementation of universal health coverage requirements of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Nigeria without further delay.

Addressing the participants at the recent launch of Nolly Health Insurance, comprising Life Insurance and Pension Scheme for the practitioners in the creative industry in Lagos, the Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr. ChidiaMaduekwe, noted that the unified insurance scheme was a bold and commendable initiative.

“On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the launch of the unified health Life Insurance and Pension Scheme (LIPS) is a thing of joy and it gladdens my heart to be associated with it.”

He further assured participants that “We shall compliment and back it with full faith and credit of the government under the auspices of Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC).”

According to the Lagos State’s Acting Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, the scheme was long overdue in view of the health challenges including Kidney and heart problems which had claimed many lives in the industry due to lack of fund for medicare.

She commended the leadership of the movie and creative industry for the laudable programme and explained that Lagos State Government had planned to establish Art Theatres in the different geographical zones of the state in order to bring the industry closer to the people.