Sterling Bank Plc has announced that its partnership with the Lagos State Government will expand the reach of the Lagos State Health Management Agency healthcare provision with the launch of the Ilera Eko Virtual Booth for informal sector workers.

Ilera Eko Virtual Booth is designed to bring healthcare closer to the people and expand the reach of its health insurance scheme; Ilera Eko, across the state.

Disclosing this at the inaugural Lagos State Insurance Summit held in Lagos recently, Divisional Head of Business Growth at Sterling Bank, Mr. Obinna Ukachukwu, said the bank and the LASHMA, planned to leverage technology to bring healthcare to where most of the informal sectors worker are, thus expanding the reach of healthcare services to residents of the state.

Mr. Ukachukwu noted that most residents earned daily pay from their trade locations, making it difficult for them to leave and go to the clinic when sick, hence the need for these first-line health services in various informal business clusters around the state.

He noted that LASHMA was solution-leaning in its approach to healthcare distribution, hence this project became a reality. He added that the bank would finance the building of all the booths and provide resources to aid their management.

The Governor, represented by the Permanent Secretary, of Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye said: “These services include a full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care. This is one of the major goals of the health and environment pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda, with the ‘plus’ representing the incorporation of an intensified focus on social inclusion, gender equality, and youth development in these next four years.”

In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, LASHMA, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, stated that the summit will serve as a critical platform for exchanging ideas and fostering innovation towards achieving universal healthcare coverage in the state.