Emergency: NHIA Seeks Partnership With FRSC For Road Crash Victims

The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority NHIA Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, has called for a strategic partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC to improve emergency healthcare access for road traffic crash victims

The initiative will also integrate health insurance information into driver’s licence and vehicle registration processes.

Dr. Ohiri who made the call when he paid a visit to the FRSC Corps Marshal Mallam Shehu Mohammed in Abuja explained that the collaboration would facilitate prompt identification of crash victims’ health insurance status and eliminate the bureaucratic bottlenecks often associated with accessing emergency medical services.

He stressed further that the initiative would also ensure that victims receive timely medical attention without financial constraints at the point of rescue and treatment.

Responding, the Corps Marshal Mallam Shehu Mohammed welcomed the proposal and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Dr. Ohiri as Director-General of NHIA, describing him as “a round peg in a round hole.”

He noted that the FRSC, as the lead agency in traffic management and road safety administration in Nigeria, remains committed to initiatives that enhance the safety and welfare of road users across the country.

The Corps Marshal said that all FRSC clinics nationwide are accredited healthcare facilities.

According to him, establishment of the FRSC Health Maintenance Limited was conceived to integrate the entire road transport ecosystem into affordable healthcare coverage.

According to him, the programme is targeted at transport operators, drivers, and members of road transport unions whose population is estimated at over 10 million nationwide.

According to the FRSC Boss, FRSC possesses a database of more than 12 million registered drivers and is willing to partner with NHIA to ensure that health insurance enrollment becomes an integral component of driver’s licence acquisition and renewal processes.

“Such collaboration would guarantee enhanced safety, improved access to emergency medical care, and prompt treatment of crash victims irrespective of their financial status at the point of rescue.”

Highlighting FRSC’s longstanding commitment to post-crash care, the Corps Marshal noted that the Corps was the first organisation in Nigeria to establish a dedicated ambulance service with roadside clinics strategically located in crash-prone corridors across the country, further proving its commitment to saving lives on Nigerian roads.