Ahead of the roll out of the Nigerian Entertainment Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS), a powerful delegation have been embarking on a nationwide tour to further sensitize and educate the practitioners of the entertainment and media industry on the workings of the scheme and also importantly the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund (NEIHTF). Also, to lay a rock solid foundation for the planned uniform health insurance cover for the entire entertainment industry.
Initiated by the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Lecture Series (NEILS) and backed by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the main objective of this initiative is to Institute a private health insurance scheme with customized plans known as; the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS) specifically for the entertainment industry to enroll to. This will be administered by 3 partner Health Management Organisations (HMOs) under the close supervision of NHIS. Also, to establish the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund (NEIHTF) with the sole aim of providing an effective health care delivery systems to practitioners within the industry through several projects and initiatives that will help curb the surge in avoidable deaths amongst celebrity entertainers owing to poor health management. This will also put to an end the traumatic experience entertainers go through to raise funds when down with terminal ailment and other related sicknesses. The Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund will serve to compliment the insurance cover.
The Kaduna convention is billed to hold on Sunday October 26, 2014 at the conference hall of Kenfeli Palm Beach Hotel, Barnawa, Kaduna. The Port-Harcourt event is scheduled for Wednesday October 29th, 2014 at The Arena, 30 Tombia Street (Beside Le Meridian), GRA. The Warri convention will also hold on Thursday October 30th, 2014 at the Shell Ramp, By Enerhen Junction, Warri/Sapele Road, Warri.. The last leg of the tour is the Benin-City convention and is scheduled for Friday October 31st, 2014 at Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, 1 Airport Road. The convention will kick off by 10am in all the states except Kaduna which will kick off by 1pm. Practitioners of entertainment industry and media resident in these states are all invited to attend the conventions and get first-hand information on how the scheme can work for them.
Speaking concerning the four states tour, the coordinator of the scheme, Mr Seun Apara said it is only necessary to take the information to the people the scheme has been designed for. “What we are currently doing is a major sacrifice and a deliberate attempt to safe guard the future of our dear entertainment industry and restore the dignity. I must tell you that the project has been receiving tremendous support from the entertainment industry all over Nigeria as more entertainment industry stakeholders continue to identify with it as novel project that is timely and laudable. We can’t keep complaining of lack of structures in our industry while we are obviously not doing anything about it. We can play politics with everything but we can’t with our health. An injury to one is an injury to all. Never in this industry will any entertainer beg for money again”.
Aside the major convention that held at the Grand Ball Room of Eko Hotels & Suites in Lagos on July 22, 2014 to launch the scheme, the organisers have had major meetings and conventions with stakeholders in states like Oyo, Ogun, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This scheme will also come at an affordable rate owing to the unique nature of the health insurance cover design being planned for the entire entertainment industry. Under this plan, entertainers will have easy and ready access to a network of good doctors across several hospitals with standard medical facilities and information. They would also be encouraged to embark on regular checkups whereby potential life threatening ailments may be uncovered early and dealt with before degenerating. Adequate arrangements for timely intervention to save the lives of practitioners within the industry in case of eventualities are also prominent on the agenda of the scheme.
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