The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority has secured a free health insurance package for 1,320 residents across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The one-year health insurance scheme, offered under the ILERA EKO initiative in partnership with the Lagos State Health Management Agency, covered 360 individual beneficiaries and 240 families.
Each family is entitled to coverage for four members, bringing the total number of individuals reached under the family plan to 960 and the overall beneficiaries to 1,320.
Speaking during the official rollout on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Bashir Are, stressed the importance of accessible healthcare and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to improving residents’ wellbeing through strategic interventions.
Are explained, “The exercise was conducted simultaneously across designated centres over the weekend in the three senatorial districts, Lagos Central, Lagos East and Lagos West.
“The Lagos Central exercise was held at a Local Council Area, Lagos East at the Ikorodu Local Government Office, and Lagos West at the Agege Youth Centre.”
He added that the agency fully paid the beneficiaries’ health insurance subscriptions for one year, describing the initiative as “a first-of-its-kind intervention.”
Are expressed optimism that, based on the success recorded, the agency would seek approval to sustain and possibly expand the initiative in subsequent years.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of LASHMA, Emmanuella Zamba, highlighted the wide range of healthcare services covered under the policy.
She urged beneficiaries to maximise the opportunity and assured them of access to quality healthcare services at accredited hospitals across the state.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority matters and the Deputy Chairman of the APC in Lagos State, both of whom commended the initiative as a people-centred intervention aligned with the government’s healthcare agenda.
In addition to the insurance enrolment, beneficiaries at all centres received free basic health screenings, including blood pressure and fasting blood sugar tests, reinforcing the preventive healthcare focus of the programme.
The initiative, according to the organisers, reflects the state government’s commitment to achieving universal health coverage and improving residents’ quality of life through sustainable healthcare programmes and partnerships.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the rising cost of healthcare services and renewed efforts by the Lagos state government to expand access to affordable healthcare through its social health insurance programme, ILERA EKO.
The ILERA EKO scheme, launched by the state government to drive universal health coverage, is designed to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses for residents and improve access to quality healthcare services across public and private facilities accredited by the Lagos State Health Management Agency.