Good move! The Nigerian Entertainment Industry in partnership with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Lagos State Ministry of Health and Nigeria Medical Association are organizing a Health Insurance Convention. It is billed to hold on July 22nd, 2014 at the Grand Ball Room of Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos.

According to organizers, the awareness and knowledge of health insurance among the practitioners of the Nigerian entertainment industry has become imperative. Due to the absence of it, the industry has lost several of its well loved musicians and actors to dreadful sicknesses like renal failure, fatal accidents and other vices while trying to raise funds. This has however necessitated the need for a well structured health insurance policy and cover for the entertainment industry.

The Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Convention is designed as a customized learning and education platform for the practitioners of the entertainment industry and invariably members of the public at large to understand the importance of health insurance and at the same time embrace it.

The convention seeks to create special insurance covers and policies for the practitioners of the entertainment industry. Also, to illuminate complex issues of health care practice and policy by bringing together leading-edge doers and thinkers – from operations to academia, from clinical practice to corporate management. The convention delineates perspectives of stakeholders throughout the healthcare community in addressing broad issues and the type of health insurance to go for.

Topics to be discussed at the convention are; The health implications of celebrity life styles, Benefits of Health Insurance Policies, Health Insurance Policy …at what cost?, The health insurance policy…how dependable? and The Role of Government in Health Insurance Policies to mention a few.

It is absolutely very sad seeing our entertainers beg for money from fans and government alike when they are down with life threatening ailments. Other professionals suffer similar fates and sometimes they cannot afford treatment but they seldom embark on aggressive media campaigns of such magnitudes like their entertainment counterparts. This has however resulted to a big shame and public ridicule.