Lagos residents enrolled in the state’s free one-year health insurance package can now access a wider range of services, including major and minor surgeries, antenatal and postnatal care, clinical tests and specialist consultations, under the ILERA EKO social health insurance scheme.

The expanded benefits were highlighted during a medical outreach in Festac, where officials of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority and the Lagos State Health Management Agency briefed residents on the scope of the programme and how to enrol.

Speaking at the event through a representative, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Bashir Are, said the initiative is being implemented on the directive of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as part of efforts to improve the well-being of citizens through strategic health interventions.

Are explained that the authority is supporting the state to reach communities across all Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas, ensuring that residents can obtain “quality and proper Ilera Eko” in accredited hospitals and primary healthcare centres.

A representative of the Lagos State Health Management Agency, Lucas Aladeusi, stressed that the scheme is not limited to government facilities. He said the agency is partnering with private hospitals and clinics within and outside Lagos, broadening access for enrollees who may prefer or live closer to private providers.

Aladeusi noted that the package now goes beyond basic consultations and registration to cover surgeries, diagnostic tests, maternal care and family planning services, in addition to general and specialist consultations.

He added that the outreach campaign had already taken place in Lagos Island, Agege and Ikorodu before moving to Festac, with the goal of sensitising residents who live and work in Lagos that they are eligible to benefit from the scheme.

Earlier, the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority announced that it had secured free ILERA EKO health insurance for 1,320 residents across the state’s three senatorial districts for a period of one year, in partnership with the health management agency.

The ILERA EKO scheme is a flagship component of Lagos State’s drive toward universal health coverage, aimed at reducing out-of-pocket spending on medical care and improving access to affordable, quality services in both public and private accredited facilities.