The Beyond Awareness Webinar, held on Friday, 24 July 2026, was a successful and insightful session focused on understanding the realities of health insurance awareness, enrollment, and utilization in Nigeria.
The webinar featured Mr. Kayode Olusogo, a research consultant and member of the Ifunanya Care Initiative (ICI) Research Team, as the speaker. The session was moderated by Victory Nzewi, founder of Ifunanya Care Initiative.
Sharing Findings from ICI’s Health Insurance Research
Mr. Kayode Olusogo presented findings from Ifunanya Care Initiative’s health insurance research, conducted between July and December 2025. The research explored the level of awareness, enrollment, experiences, and barriers to health insurance among community members, patients, and healthcare providers.
The research was conducted among 413 patients and community members and 54 healthcare providers.
One of the key findings was that while 88% of participants were aware of health insurance, only 28% were currently enrolled. This significant gap between awareness and enrollment highlights the need to move beyond simply creating awareness to addressing the factors that prevent people from enrolling and effectively using health insurance.
The research identified several barriers to enrollment, including:
– Limited information about the health insurance enrollment process.
– Inadequate understanding of the benefits of health insurance.
– Concerns about the effectiveness and reliability of health insurance coverage.
– Limited information among enrollees about the services covered by their plans.
– Concerns from healthcare providers about the adequacy of coverage for essential health services.
– Challenges relating to payments from insurance companies to healthcare providers.
Mr. Olusogo emphasized that addressing these challenges requires a combination of community education, healthcare provider engagement, and improvements within the health insurance system.
You can read the published research article here.
Moving from Awareness to Access
While moderating the session, Victory Nzewi emphasized the importance of helping more Nigerians understand how health insurance works, not only to increase enrollment but also to promote better utilization of available healthcare services.
She highlighted the need for stronger collaboration among Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), government institutions, and private organizations to expand health insurance coverage and make healthcare more accessible to Nigerians.
She also noted that health insurance can give people greater confidence to seek medical care early, before health conditions become more severe, while reducing the financial burden associated with accessing quality healthcare.
ICI’s Upcoming Health Enrollment Project Victory also announced that Ifunanya Care Initiative is launching its first health insurance enrollment project, which will focus on supporting people living with a selected health condition to access more affordable healthcare.
Through this project, ICI hopes to contribute to improving access to healthcare while continuing its broader advocacy for better healthcare systems through research, education, and community engagement.
Support the Upcoming Project
You can support the upcoming health insurance enrollment project by donating through any of the following channels:
United Bank of Africa
– Account Name: IFUNANYA CARE INITIATIVE
– Account Number: 1028156715
Moniepoint Microfinance Bank
– Account Name: IFUNANYA CARE INITIATIVE
– Account Number: 7048589533
Paystack: https://paystack.shop/pay/ifunanyacare
For more information about Ifunanya Care Initiative or the upcoming project:
– Email: info@ifunanyacare.org
– Phone: 07048589533
