By Ayomide Otitoju
The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding access to advanced cardiac care and protecting residents from catastrophic healthcare costs as beneficiaries of its Free Health Initiative shared their experiences of how government intervention helped save their lives.
The beneficiaries, including 19-year-old Lydia Ogungbayi, 16-year-old Moshood Muritala and three-year-old Ayoife George, were received by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Dayo Lajide, during a courtesy visit to the ministry.
Abayomi said the beneficiaries’ recovery demonstrated the importance of combining government funding, specialist expertise, modern equipment and health insurance to provide life-saving treatment without pushing families into financial hardship.
He said the state was focused on building local capacity for complex medical procedures rather than relying continually on treatment abroad.
“For us as government, in healthcare delivery, there is one side that is the ability to treat, and then there is the other side, which is who pays for it, because there is nothing that is free,” Abayomi said.
The commissioner praised cardiothoracic surgeon, Prof. Bode Falase, and his team for helping to strengthen advanced cardiac surgery capacity in Lagos.
He said retaining highly specialised medical professionals was essential to developing the state’s healthcare system, noting that Falase had chosen to remain in Nigeria and build local cardiothoracic surgery capacity.
Abayomi also disclosed that the government was investing in specialised healthcare infrastructure, including the proposed Massey Children’s Specialist Referral Centre, to enable more complex procedures to be performed in Lagos rather than sending patients to countries such as India, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa.
“We’re trying to build that capacity on ground so that the next patient that comes, we will not be in a position to send you to India,” he said.
The commissioner used the occasion to renew the state’s advocacy for mandatory health insurance, saying the recently issued executive order making health insurance compulsory was crucial to protecting families from financial hardship caused by serious illnesses.
“Your health is your greatest asset. Insure it,” he said, explaining that insurance would reduce the risk of families selling property or exhausting their savings to pay medical bills.
Earlier, Ogunyemi said the beneficiaries’ recovery reflected the commitment of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration under the THEMES Plus Agenda to providing Lagos residents with access to quality healthcare.
She said the ministry receives hundreds of applications from residents seeking assistance with treatment, refunds or overseas medical care, but limited resources make prioritisation necessary.
Ogunyemi commended Dr Mazeedat Erinosho and her team for reviewing applications and mobilising support for deserving patients.
She recalled that Moshood eventually became stranded in India after complications and prolonged treatment created additional financial demands, describing decisions on which patients to support as difficult but necessary given available resources.
She also praised Falase and the wider Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) cardiothoracic team, stressing that successful cardiac surgery required the coordinated efforts of surgeons, physicians, anaesthetists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Lajide described the beneficiaries’ recovery as a heartwarming outcome of the administrative efforts involved in government-funded healthcare interventions.
She commended the LASUTH team and Erinosho, noting that securing treatment often involved extensive documentation, approvals and efforts to release funds.
The Director of Medical Administration, Training and Programmes, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Mazeedat Erinosho, said Lydia was diagnosed with HbSS and later developed constrictive pericarditis, a serious condition that caused severe swelling and difficulty with movement.
She said the ministry secured ₦5 million in state support for Lydia, while additional resources were mobilised to enable the LASUTH cardiothoracic team to perform the procedure.
According to Erinosho, Lydia’s surgery lasted about 10 hours and was successfully completed a day before her birthday.
She also narrated Moshood’s complicated treatment journey in India, where he underwent multiple surgeries and spent more than a month on a ventilator before additional funding, including $10,000 raised through government and private support, enabled his return to Nigeria.
Falase said Lydia first presented at the cardiothoracic clinic in 2024 and returned several times before preparations for surgery began in 2025.
He credited Erinosho and her team with helping to mobilise the resources required for the procedure and expressed satisfaction with Lydia’s recovery.
Lydia, who underwent surgery in December 2025, said she had lived with progressive massive anasarca caused by constrictive pericarditis for five years and nine months before receiving treatment.
“I was finally free,” she said, expressing gratitude to the Lagos State Government and the medical teams involved in her care.
Other beneficiaries recognised at the event included Moshood Muritala, who was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries and underwent cardiac surgery in India, and three-year-old Ayoife George, who was diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect and Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction and received surgery in Kerala, India.
The ministry also disclosed that a Lagos State civil servant, Mrs Kajebora, benefited from state-funded cardiac surgery for her daughter in India.
The event ended with renewed calls for stronger health financing and continued investment in specialist healthcare.
Abayomi said Lagos’ long-term objective was to develop sufficient local capacity so residents would no longer need to travel abroad for procedures that could be performed in the state.
He added that mandatory health insurance would help ensure residents could access quality healthcare without being pushed into poverty by medical expenses.
“We don’t want anybody in Lagos to be plunged into poverty because they got sick,” Abayomi said.
