The national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Abubakar Yakubu, has urged actors to enrol in the guild’s health insurance scheme and undergo regular medical checks to prevent health breakdowns.

Nollywood actor Taiwo ‘Ogogo’ Hassan is battling stage four cancer, according to his daughter, Shakirat Taiwo. Ms Taiwo appeared in a video crying and begging for help.

Mr Yakubu, on Tuesday in Abuja, said that as part of his administration’s efforts to improve actors’ welfare, the scheme has enabled members to access medical care and undergo comprehensive examinations for early detection of potential health problems.

He, however, lamented that some members were unwilling to take advantage of the scheme because they believed they were healthy, while others who enrolled did not collect their insurance cards or visit hospitals for medical checks.

“To avoid imminent breakdown of their health, we are urging members to get enrolled in our HMO schemes for regular tests. An ordinary headache could be a symptom of a larger proportion of something in your body,” Mr Yakubu said.

According to him, early medical intervention can reduce the financial burden of treating advanced illnesses. He also said the guild was strengthening its welfare policies to ensure members were adequately covered.

“Please don’t wait until it is too late. If you wait, it becomes late. We will begin to deregister some people if you don’t have our health insurance policy. You cannot be our member without us looking out for you to be able to manage your health as an actor,” he said.

(NAN)