By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Lagos State Government has intensified efforts to achieve universal health coverage, with more than 1.5 million residents now enrolled in the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed.
The Governor made this known at the second edition of the Eko Health Convention held in Lagos on Friday, 7 August, 2026 describing health insurance as the foundation of the state’s drive towards universal health coverage.
He said the government was focused on building sustainable healthcare institutions capable of providing quality and affordable services beyond the lifespan of any administration, with reforms designed to ensure residents can access healthcare irrespective of income or location.
Sanwo-Olu recalled that his administration signed an executive order in July 2024 domesticating the National Health Insurance Authority Act in Lagos, making health insurance mandatory across the state.
He said the rise in enrolment had increased utilisation of healthcare services, while the government was introducing measures to make premiums easier for residents to pay.
Among these measures is the Ilera Eko EasyPay platform, which allows enrollees to pay premiums in instalments rather than a lump sum.
He also highlighted the state’s Equity Fund, which supports premium payments for vulnerable residents, ensuring those unable to afford coverage are not excluded from the system.
Another intervention, the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme Assistance in Distress, provides emergency patients access to treatment while payment and insurance issues are resolved.
Sanwo-Olu said the measures reflected the administration’s objective of making healthcare a right accessible to all residents rather than a privilege for those who can afford it. Our goal, he said, is to ensure that healthcare is not a privilege for a few but a right for every resident of Lagos.
The state government is linking its insurance expansion with broader healthcare reforms, including investment in infrastructure, digital medical records and improved workforce capacity. Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had decentralised healthcare administration into six health districts to improve planning, accountability and access, with several major hospital projects nearing completion.
The government is also implementing the Smart Health Information Platform, which will integrate patient records across primary healthcare centres, general hospitals and teaching hospitals, using electronic medical records, artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve diagnosis, disease surveillance, emergency response and policymaking.
Sanwo-Olu called for greater participation from private investors and development partners, noting that government funding alone would not meet the healthcare needs of Lagos, one of Africa’s largest cities.
Earlier, Deputy Governor Kadri Hamzat said sustained reforms over the past seven years had strengthened Lagos’s capacity to deliver healthcare services, identifying the decentralisation of healthcare administration through the six health districts as one of the administration’s most significant reforms for improving accountability, planning and community-based delivery.
Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, said the convention provided an opportunity to assess progress under the Lagos State Health Sector Strategic Master Plan.
President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Njide Ndili, reaffirmed the private sector’s willingness to work with the Lagos government to expand universal health coverage through stronger public-private partnerships.
