VIDEO: At the official launching of the Ijesaland Health Insurance Scheme
How the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland transformed elderly healthcare concerns into a community-funded insurance programme covering thousands of senior citizens
Among the 25 milestones documenting the decade of service of Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi, the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland, is the conception and establishment of the Ijesa Elderly Health Insurance Scheme, an intervention designed to reduce the financial barriers preventing elderly people from accessing quality healthcare.
Through the Ijesa Community Development Assembly (ICDA), the initiative developed into a structured health insurance programme that enrolled 3,000 elderly Ijesa men and women in 2024, followed by another 2,000 beneficiaries in 2025, according to the stewardship record.
The achievement represents more than the enrolment of 5,000 senior citizens. It documents how an identified community challenge was transformed into a practical healthcare intervention through purposeful leadership, strategic partnerships, community mobilisation and financial commitment.
From Identifying the Problem to Conceiving a Solution
Every successful development initiative begins with an idea. Before resources can be mobilised, plans prepared or implementation commenced, someone must first identify a problem and conceive a workable solution.
For Fasuyi, elderly healthcare presented a challenge that demanded a sustainable response rather than occasional medical assistance.
As people grow older, their healthcare needs often increase, while the cost of consultations, medicines, investigations and treatment can become a serious financial burden. For vulnerable senior citizens, the inability to afford medical care can mean delaying treatment or going without essential services.
The ICDA's response was to develop a health insurance programme specifically targeting vulnerable Ijesa elders aged 60 and above.
The idea was driven by a broader vision of improving longevity and ensuring that older people could access healthcare without the full burden of paying for services directly whenever medical attention became necessary.
At the scheme's flag-off, Fasuyi articulated the aspiration that Ijesaland should become a community where access to effective healthcare would enable residents to live longer and healthier lives, with a target of reaching 100 years.
This aspiration provided the guiding philosophy behind the initiative: elderly people should not be left to confront the financial demands of healthcare without a structured support system.
Mobilising Community Resources for Elderly Welfare
Having conceived the intervention, Fasuyi proceeded to mobilise the resources and partnerships required to turn the idea into reality.
Chief Akin Akinola, Sawe of Ilesa at the ICDA stakeholders' meeting
At an ICDA stakeholders' meeting on community development, he brought together traditional rulers, local government chairpersons, Pan-Ijesa organisations, community leaders, development practitioners and other influential stakeholders to consider practical responses to the region's development needs.
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) made presentations explaining how health insurance could provide access to medical services at subsidised costs. The discussions addressed the benefits of enrolment, the scope of coverage and the responsibilities of beneficiaries.
The engagement also produced a commitment to sponsor the insurance premiums of 350 Ijesa indigenes at ₦15,000 per person, demonstrating an early step towards translating the proposal into tangible support.
Subsequent engagements expanded the mobilisation effort, with Ijesa patriots contributing funds towards the insurance premiums of thousands of elderly beneficiaries.
The scale of this mobilisation was acknowledged during stakeholder sensitisation meetings, where traditional rulers and community leaders commended the initiative and encouraged support for the vulnerable population.
The programme demonstrated Fasuyi's approach to community development: identify a need, design a feasible response and bring people and institutions together to provide the resources required.
Strategic Partnership with the NHIA
The next phase involved establishing the arrangements needed to deliver healthcare through an existing insurance framework.
The ICDA partnered with the National Health Insurance Authority under the Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP), with accredited healthcare facilities providing services to enrolled beneficiaries.
On May 27, 2024, the ICDA and NHIA conducted an advocacy and sensitisation exercise at the Ijesaland Geriatric Centre. More than 1,000 registered patients of Ijesa origin participated in the engagement, which focused on explaining the scheme and preparing beneficiaries for its implementation.
The sensitisation campaign was also extended to traditional rulers and community heads across Ijesaland's six local government areas. Traditional institutions helped identify vulnerable elderly people and communicate the programme's requirements to their communities.
Participating healthcare facilities included the Ijesaland Geriatric Centre, Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex in Ile-Ife, alongside other accredited facilities.
The insurance package covered eligible services within the programme, including outpatient consultations, prescribed medicines, diagnostic tests and specified surgical and other medical treatments, subject to the applicable scheme conditions and co-payment requirements.
These arrangements provided the operational foundation for the initiative, connecting community mobilisation and financial sponsorship to an established healthcare delivery system.
From Planning to Implementation
The transition from concept to implementation was marked by beneficiary registration, payment of premiums and the distribution of insurance cards.
The scheme's initial implementation targeted vulnerable Ijesa men and women aged 60 and above across the six local government areas.
At the formal flag-off, the ICDA presented a ₦30 million cheque representing the first-year insurance premiums for 2,000 beneficiaries. NHIA registration cards were also presented, marking a significant stage in the delivery of the programme.
The subsequent stewardship record reports that 3,000 elders were enrolled and sponsored in 2024, with a further 2,000 enrolled in 2025, bringing the reported total to 5,000 beneficiaries over the two years.
These figures illustrate the progression from identifying an elderly healthcare challenge to establishing a programme with measurable reach.
The reported expansion also highlights the importance of continuity. Rather than treating the initiative as a one-off intervention, the ICDA extended its coverage to additional beneficiaries in the following year.
Leadership by Example: Turning Concern into Action
The health insurance milestone demonstrates leadership by example through the decision to make elderly welfare a practical priority within the Ijesaland community development agenda.
Fasuyi did not limit the response to drawing attention to the difficulties faced by older people. Through the ICDA, he championed a structured programme, mobilised sponsors, engaged healthcare authorities and supported the arrangements required to enrol beneficiaries.
The initiative also provided a platform through which Ijesa patriots could contribute to a defined community need, translating goodwill into a practical intervention.
Its significance lies in the connection between leadership commitment and an organised mechanism for delivering assistance to a vulnerable population.
Vision for Healthy Ageing
Vision gave the programme its long-term direction.
The decision to pursue health insurance rather than rely exclusively on occasional medical outreach reflected an understanding that elderly healthcare requires continuity and access to appropriate services.
The programme sought to reduce financial barriers to medical care and improve the prospects of healthier ageing among senior citizens.
By focusing on vulnerable people aged 60 and above, the initiative also recognised that healthcare support should be directed towards those most likely to face difficulties meeting the cost of treatment.
The aspiration to improve longevity gave the programme a wider purpose beyond the immediate number of people enrolled.
Integrity and Transparency Through Partnership
The scheme's credibility depended on the responsible use of contributions and the establishment of practical arrangements for delivering the promised healthcare support.
The involvement of the NHIA, accredited healthcare facilities, traditional rulers and community representatives helped provide an institutional framework for enrolment and service delivery.
The programme's reported beneficiary figures also provide a measurable basis for documenting its reach.
Acknowledgement is equally due to the healthcare professionals and institutional stakeholders who contributed to the initiative. The source documentation recognises the contributions of Dr. Abiola Familusi, as well as institutional support associated with Professor John Okeniyi and OAUTH, Ile-Ife.
These partnerships demonstrate that community development initiatives can draw on the expertise of established institutions while retaining a clear community-centred purpose.
Accountability Through Measurable Results
Accountability requires more than announcing an intention to help. It requires evidence of the steps taken and the people reached.
The reported enrolment of 3,000 elders in 2024 and another 2,000 in 2025 provides a measurable record of the programme's expansion.
The presentation of insurance cards and the payment of premiums for beneficiaries further illustrate the movement from planning to implementation.
The long-term value of the scheme will depend on continued coverage, effective access to accredited healthcare facilities and the sustained ability to support eligible beneficiaries.
Nevertheless, the documented enrolment figures establish elderly health insurance as a significant component of the ICDA's community development interventions.
A Milestone in Purposeful Community Service
The Ijesa Elderly Health Insurance Scheme occupies an important place among the 25 milestones in the decade of stewardship of Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi, the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland.
Its development followed four essential phases: project idea and conceptualisation, resource mobilisation, planning, and implementation.
The first phase deserves particular recognition because the subsequent mobilisation of sponsors, partnership with the NHIA, beneficiary registration and payment of premiums all depended on the original decision to identify the problem and conceive a feasible solution.
Fasuyi's contribution therefore extends beyond mobilising support for an existing programme. The milestone documents his role in championing the initiative through the ICDA, providing the vision that guided its development and bringing stakeholders together to turn the concept into a structured intervention.
Leadership by example supplied the commitment; vision defined the aspiration for healthier ageing; integrity and transparency informed the partnership-based approach; and accountability provided measurable outcomes against which the programme could be assessed.
Ultimately, the reported enrolment of 5,000 elderly Ijesa people across 2024 and 2025 represents a practical response to the healthcare needs of a vulnerable population.
It is a milestone built on an idea, advanced through mobilisation, structured through institutional partnership and translated into implementation in pursuit of a healthier and more dignified life for Ijesaland's senior citizens.
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