Lagos Govt Opens Entries for UHC Innovators 2025 as LASHMA Unveils ₦500,000 Student Innovation Contest

The Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) has announced the commencement of entries for the UHC Innovators Competition 2025, a statewide essay and video challenge designed to promote ideas that can reduce healthcare costs and expand access to care in Lagos.

The competition, organised to mark Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, targets students of tertiary institutions and youths below 35 years and is being held under the theme “Unaffordable Health Costs? We’re Sick of It.”

According to LASHMA, participants are required to submit either an essay or a two-minute video proposing practical and innovative solutions to the rising cost of healthcare, while demonstrating how ILERA EKO, the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme, can help protect residents from financial hardship.

Entries are to be submitted in two main categories. Participants may produce a two-minute video pitch presenting a clear problem and a workable idea to make healthcare more affordable in Lagos, or a two-minute narrative advocacy video explaining how rising healthcare costs affect young people and how ILERA EKO can advance universal health coverage.

Each submission must identify a key healthcare affordability challenge, propose a realistic solution, explain how the idea will reduce costs or improve access to care, and link the proposal to UHC goals and ILERA EKO.

Essay entries are to be emailed to ileraekosubmissions@gmail.com with the subject line “UHC Day 2025 — Essay Submission (UHC Innovators)”, while video entries are to be uploaded through the ILERA EKO portal. The deadline is Friday, January 30, 2026, by 7:00 p.m.

All entries must include the participant’s full name, institution and level, age, email address, phone number, and the title of the essay or video.

Submissions will be assessed based on clarity and originality, relevance to the theme, creativity, practicality, and understanding of ILERA EKO and universal health coverage.

Winners will share ₦500,000 in cash prizes, with ₦250,000 for first place, ₦150,000 for second place, and ₦100,000 for third place.

The competition is part of Lagos State’s broader push to engage young people in shaping policies and solutions that will make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible for all residents.