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Nigeria’s Health Sector has Massive Wealth Potential, says Abiru

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Tokunbo Abiru

Polaris Bank CEO, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru has disclosed that Nigeria’s health sector holds immense potential to create wealth for the country if an enabling environment is put in place for the sector to thrive.

Mr. Abiru said this during a webinar hosted by the Bank on: ‘Managing Healthcare Business During & Post-COVID-19’.

While speaking on the gap and opportunities in the health sector, he drew participants’ attention to the current state of medical services globally which according to him, are overstretched.

He noted that Nigeria’s case is however peculiar owing to what he referred to as pandemic preconditions that existed in the nation’s health sector before the outbreak of COVID-19 but further re-enforced by the realities of COVID-19.

“Despite these unfortunate realities, with the right policies and legislation, the health sector has the potential to create wealth for the country. This will include exploring ways to make medical services affordable by providing a well-defined and incentivised insurance framework to cover the formal and informal sectors. He further noted that Nigeria’s large population offers a huge demand potential for turning the health sector into a money-spinner for the country.”

According to him, “If the right legislation is in place, medical tourism can be a thing of the past while providers of capital would have the comfort to bridge funding gap thus getting the sector to work optimally.”

Dr. Abiodun Oyenuga, the quality assurance adviser of Medical Credit Fund, who spoke on the ‘Overview of the Pandemic and its Impact on Healthcare Business’ noted that: “There is a decrease in the ability to afford healthcare as a result of the business shutdown; loss of income and loss of jobs among several drawbacks. He however advocated for more participation from financial institutions by providing credits and financing; and also a renewed focus of Government in reviving the healthcare industry as these will gravitate towards improving patient satisfaction; as well as an increase in profit.

With respect to expanding coverage, improved and timely  access to primary health care services, Mr. Adil Shaikh, Chief Technology Officer of MeCure, explains that Telemedicine provides patients the opportunity to access online consultation, prescription and delivery of prescribed drugs from certified pharmacies across Nigeria.  Mr. Shaikh noted however that telemedicine comes with challenges especially for providers of medical services who wish to explore the field; ranging from technology infrastructure, user education & general awareness and connectivity issues on the part of the consumer. He identified three major areas financial institutions could help to bridge the gap including: leveraging reach to generate awareness, innovating on digital payments, and partnerships with health institutions.

On her part, Dr. Itunu Akinware, Managing Director Medbury Medical Services, advocated for effective collaborations within the health sector drawing from the saying, “You shouldn’t let a good crisis go to waste,” she emphasized that ‘now that a lot of light has been shone on the health sector and we can see the gaps in infrastructure, processes, and systems, this is the time for all of us to work together and ensure that we can improve healthcare in Nigeria”.

Speaking from the perspective of what her organization is doing differently to stay afloat despite the impact of COVID-19, Dr. Akinware said, “we have developed a three-pronged strategy: to increase or maintain revenue; reduce or re-align cost and manage cash.”

Mr. Omoshola Yusuf, Divisional Head, Medical & Technology, Hygeia HMO who spoke on how the increasing cost of care is being moderated by the HMO scheme  encouraged Nigerians,  employers of labour, as well as individuals, to embrace the scheme.

Mr. Segun Opeke, Directorate Head, Lagos Business, Polaris Bank spoke on the product offering of the Bank to the health sector which he described as two-pronged: Polaris Healthcare Loan and the CBN 100billion healthcare support fund to cushion the impact of COVID-19 and improve the gaps/deficit in the healthcare business, going forward.

“The Polaris Healthcare Loan has two variants: what can be available as overdraft facility for working capital purposes; purchase of consumables; discounting of invoices, etc. Interest is very competitive while Loan amount is subject to the applicant’s capacity”, Opeke explained.

Continuing, Mr. Opeke noted, “There is also the Term Loans available for renovations, expansion, purchase of equipments for hospitals, vehicles, etc. depending on what the need is. Interest rate is in single-digit”, he added.

Mr. Opeke in response to a question posed by a participant on the role of Polaris Bank in assisting healthcare providers access the CBN  intervention fund, said that the NGN100 Billion Credit Support for the Healthcare sector, is to provide credit to indigenous pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare value chain players intending to build or expand capacity.  Polaris Bank is at the fore-front and has over the past few months assisted a number of healthcare businesses to access facilities under the Apex Bank intervention Fund.

In his closing remarks, Polaris Bank MD/CEO, Mr. Abiru said, “If there’s any major lesson to take out of this pandemic, it is for us not to lose the opportunity it presents to improve the quality of our health sector and provide a system that is beneficial to all; regardless of social status.”

The webinar attracted thousands of participants from across the world comprising, individuals; business owners; students, lecturers and entrepreneurs across different sectors of the economy but majorly from the healthcare value chain.

Polaris Bank is a future-determining Bank committed to the delivery of industry-defining products, and services, across all the sectors of the Nigerian economy. 

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Elated Polaris Bank Customer commends Bank for excellent customer service

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Polaris BAnk

Polaris Bank customer, Ife Michael, who recently aired her concerns on X (formerly Twitter) on a school fees transaction, has commended the Bank for resolving her Complaint swiftly as promised.

 

Ife Michael tweeting via her X handle @V_Ifemichael had called out the Bank for ‘seizing’ her funds as sent from a UK University where she had sought admission.

Polaris Bank reacted promptly to her Complaint and engaged her to explain the process and promised to resolve the issue which the Bank did swiftly.

An apparently elated Ife Michael went back to the micro blogging site to recount her experience with an update on her earlier thread of how the Bank swiftly resolved her Complainant.

The Bank, according to her update “responded and reached out to explain in details the guidelines underpinning FX transaction as it relates in particular to International payment.

In her tweet, Ife Michael expressed gratitude to Polaris Bank’s swift action and transparent communication. According to her, the Bank clarified that the situation was complex but assured her that the funds would be promptly refunded to the school. And Polaris Bank did exactly as it promised as it promptly refunded the money to Roehampton University and initiated necessary processes to streamline the refund.

The engagement began when Polaris Bank’s headquarters made the first contact at 11:48 am, and by 3:41 pm on the same day, Ife Michael confirmed that the Bank had successfully refunded the funds and

fulfilled all required procedures. The Bank also took the extra step of writing to the school to facilitate the process.

This positive outcome highlights Polaris Bank’s commitment to customer satisfaction, responsive and excellent customer service, and adherence to regulatory policies. The incident not only showcases effective conflict resolution but also underscores the power of a Bank fostering transparent communication between it and her customers.

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Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United

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Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes held meetings with United at Carrington on Tuesday, but his position remains unchanged and he wants to play for a club in the Champions League and win major trophies. United do not want him to go, however, and Ronaldo has started training with the team having missed the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons.

His potential options elsewhere are limited. Chelsea are not an option anymore, while Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid appeared to publicly rule themselves out this week. “As we’ve seen on Instagram, Ronaldo has been keeping fit, so there are no concerns from Manchester United over his fitness or physical level; he’s one of the fittest players in world football.

“Ultimately, The Portuguese forward did state his desire to leave Old Trafford, but he’s running out of options, and it seems like he’s actually going to have to stay. Perhaps he will try and swing it where the 25 per cent pay cut in his contract will be waived away by United, perhaps he wants to manoeuvre and muscle a new deal, we’ll have to wait and see. But it doesn’t look like Stamford Bridge is on his cards.

“Chelsea have distanced themselves from a deal for Ronaldo, as have Bayern Munich, Napoli and a lot of other elite clubs that Jorge Mendes, who is Ronaldo’s agent, has tried to sell him to. “An offer from Saudi Arabia is astronomical but ultimately, it does not give Cristiano Ronaldo what he wants, which is that legacy. He wants to achieve Champions League records that he thinks no one else will be able to attain in the future.

“He wants to sign off at the absolute highest level. Now, it looks increasingly like he will have to stay at Manchester United because there are no biters from the big clubs.

“Everyone has their forwards already, and Chelsea, who are the only club looking like they could actually potentially be spun by what Cristiano Ronaldo offers off the pitch because we were told that Mendes, while being in front of these clubs, was putting forward his numbers in terms of social media influence, sponsorship that he rakes in, the commercial gain of his shirt sales and stuff like that. But even they now say he is not in their plans. Their immediate aim is to strengthen the defence.

“So, that leaves Ronaldo really with not many choices. We know that he does want to be competing at the highest level so if he does go to Saudi Arabia that cuts against everything he has said and everything we actually know about him and his career.

“Manchester United have always been very calm and very comfortable. They have insisted he is not for sale, and he will see out the last year of his contract. How they manoeuvre this now going forward we’ll see, but Ronaldo is keeping fit, so they have no issues or problems or fears over what state he’ll report back to pre-season in.”

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CONVOCATION: GRACE NATION BIBLE INSTITUTE GRADUATES 120 STUDENTS

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-you must remain a good Ambassador of Christ- Chris Okafor

No fewer than 120 certified Trained Prophetic students of Grace Nation Bible Institute graduated today after they have gone through rigorous prophetic training by the best Teachers Supervised by the anointed servant of God Dr. Chris Okafor. The student was presented with their certificates at the special convocation ceremony held at the International Headquarters of Grace Nation(GBI) in Ojodu Berger Lagos Nigeria. According to the Rector of the institute, they satisfy all requirements and conditions to be awarded a diploma certificate in various fields of Prophetic and Bibles knowledge.

In his words of Encouragement, the President of Grace Nation Bible Institute, Dr. Chris Okafor remarks that he has no doubt in his mind that all the students are well-trained judging by the level and capacity of all the resource Personality who lecture them, train and retraining them to face any challenges that come there ways,
The Apostle of altars also challenged them to be a good ambassador of the school to the outside world through soul-winning to the kingdom of God.

The Generational Prophet of God also remarked that as you have all learned, you must put the name of a school in good repute and always ready to work for the Lord at any time

Some of the course covered in the 8weeks program includes Evangelism and soul-winning, spiritual development and Human Management to mention but few

The highlight of the convocation was the Presentation of Certificates to all the students, according to the Rector all the students perform excellently well

Earlier in his sermon, the Senior Pastor Grace Nation and the Generational prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor teach on the series, ”The Covenant Day of Settlement” said settlement comes when you fulfill all the Principles of Settlement,
the man of God said nothing come free but when you applied the principles and follow it diligently you will easily get a settlement on all side

The realm of the Prophetic witnessed another higher dimension of Prophetic movement and deliverance through the Set Man, the Generational Prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor, He visited many family altars and set many captives free, he also delivered people with blood-line diseases while delivering miracle babies to expectant mothers

The service came to a close with a special Prayer for the Set Man, the Generational Prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor who will be making another birthday tomorrow, 4 April 2022.

 

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