On May 15th, 2023, the PharmAccess Nigeria SafeCare team visited the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Headquarters in Abuja to deliver a partnership update presentation to the NHIA Management. The official partnership between the NHIA and PharmAccess began in July 2021 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The objective of the meeting was to provide an overview of the progress made on the NHIA Digital tools and establish a national quality rating system.
The meeting had in attendance: the NHIA Director-General, Professor Mohammed Nasir Sambo; General Manager, Standards and Quality Assurance Department, Dr. Yakubu Agada-Amade; the SafeCare Director at PharmAccess Nigeria, Dr. Ibironke Dada; SafeCare Program Manager, Dr. Adetayo Adewoyin; and key members of the NHIA Management. During the visit, the SafeCare team updated the NHIA Management on the development and digitization of the NHIA quality tools.
In his opening remarks, Professor Nasir Sambo, the Director-General of NHIA, warmly welcomed the PharmAccess team and restated the importance of the partnership. Furthermore, he emphasized the substantial progress made with NHIA’s collaboration with PharmAccess Foundation: “This meeting symbolizes a leap forward in our joint efforts with PharmAccess Foundation. Our shared goal is to amplify our digitization initiatives for accreditation and quality assurance tools while prioritizing capacity building to foster ongoing improvement in the quality of care. This partnership represents a pivotal milestone in our quest to revolutionize healthcare delivery in Nigeria.”
Similarly, Dr. Yakubu Agada-Amade, the General Manager of the NHIA SQA department, provided a concise administrative run-down on the partnership’s progress with PharmAccess Foundation since 2021.
Furthermore, Dr. Ibironke Dada, the SafeCare Director of PharmAccess Nigeria, expressed genuine appreciation for the enduring partnership with NHIA. She alluded to the productive nature of their collaboration, attributing its achievements to forward-thinking leadership that has initiated transformative changes within the Authority: “Our collaboration with the NHIA has been truly remarkable, thanks to the visionary leadership that has guided us towards transformative outcomes. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Director-General and the entire NHIA team for their unwavering cooperation throughout the past two years, as we look forward to consolidating our support over the next years.”
SafeCare Nigeria has successfully redesigned/developed and digitized 25 Quality Tools comprising over 4,500 assessment criteria. These tools enable a comprehensive evaluation of the functionality and readiness of healthcare facilities within the NHIA network. They have been adapted for offline and online usage and are compatible with mobile devices, thus ensuring optimal accessibility. The visit of the SafeCare Nigeria team to the NHIA office provided a valuable opportunity to update the NHIA Management Team on the progress of the digital tools and gather their input before nationwide deployment. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, NHIA and PharmAccess aim to streamline and optimize the accreditation and quality assurance processes to ensure the delivery of quality healthcare services to all Nigerians.
PharmAccess Foundation is an international not-for-profit organization established in 2001 that operates in Africa, pioneering innovative approaches to strengthen the healthcare sector. Its goal is to improve access to quality healthcare, especially for low-income groups. ‘SafeCare’ is PharmAccess’ business division focused on ensuring improved quality of care within resilient health systems.