In Washington, D.C.:
Cathy Russell
Phone: (+1) 202 458 8124  
E-mail: crussell@worldbank.org

Ludi Joseph
Phone: (+1) 202 473 7700
Email: ljoseph@ifc.org

In Abuja:
Obadiah Tohomdet
Phone: (+234-09) 314 5269  
Email: Otohomdet@worldbank.org

In Johannesburg:
Houtan Bassiri
Phone: (+27-11) 731-3179
Email: HBassiri@ifc.org


Abuja, October 30, 2008–The World Bank, acting as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA), today signed a grant agreement for US$6.02 million with the Health Insurance Fund (HIF), a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands, to establish a community health scheme for low-income families in Lagos, Nigeria.

The scheme will provide affordable pre-paid health insurance plans for up to 22,500 beneficiaries (employees and their families) who belong to the Computer and Allied Products Association (“CAPDAN”) at the Ikeja IT village in Lagos.  The services will be provided through a network of service providers managed by Hygeia Nigeria Limited, a local private sector health insurance entity.

“The GPOBA project will provide low-income Nigerian families with access to affordable primary and maternal health care, as well as screening and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis,” said Carmen Nonay, Senior Infrastructure Specialist and task manager for the project for the World Bank and GPOBA.  

Currently, only 1 million people in Nigeria, or 0.8 percent of the population, are covered by health insurance schemes.  Many poor people have to pay out-of-pocket for medical care or do without.  The National Health Insurance Scheme, introduced in 2004, is ultimately intended to cover all Nigerians, but many low-income populations are not expected to benefit for at least another 10 years.
Under the GPOBA project, CAPDAN employees and their families will be able to access private health insurance at a subsidized rate.  For example, in the first year, the premium for the insurance package will be US$57 per person with a user contribution of only US$10.  In line with the output-based approach, GPOBA will pay the subsidy only after independent verification that the pre-agreed “outputs” or services have been delivered, thus ensuring efficiency and accountability of the service provider.

The GPOBA project is drawing on funds from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. IFC is providing grant financing under its Performance-Based Grants Initiative for increased access by the poor to high-quality health care by private sector providers in Nigeria. By expanding the role of private firms in delivering essential public services and fostering innovation in public-private partnerships, this initiative seeks to enhance IFC’s development impact beyond what is possible with traditional IFC instruments alone.

“We expect this pre-paid health insurance scheme to have strong development and demonstration impacts by expanding access to health care for low-income communities and encouraging other health maintenance organizations to offer similar programs,” said Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education. “It will also provide practical lessons to public health authorities to promote fresh approaches in contracting with the private sector for delivery of services. In addition, it will build on our existing partnership with Hygeia Nigeria, an IFC portfolio client,” he added.