Kaduna State Government has said it is targeting to enroll not less than 1million Informal Sector into the State Health Insurance Scheme, in other to ensure that every citizens in the state irrespective of the sector benefits from the Health scheme programme
This was disclosed by the Director-General of Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA), Mallam Abubakar Hassan at a one day Public Session to mark the International Universal Health Coverage organized by KADCHMA with support from Save the Children International(SCI), held in Kaduna.
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Mallam Hassan who was represented by the Director of Operations, Dr. Juliana Dauda Bungwon said the Scheme which is signed into law in the year 2018 aimed to reduce out of pocket spending on healthcare to the barest minimum, thereby reducing poverty arising from catastrophic and impoverishing health spending, has so far enrolled 521,096 beneficiaries into the scheme, observing that 83,762 Informal sector/ Vulnerable population and 383,513 Formal sector have been enrolled respectively.
According to him, Other beneficiaries Include, 8,292 captured under the Tertiary Students Health Insurance Programme and 45,529 under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
The DG stressed that as an Agency mandated to enroll citizens of Kaduna state into the Health scheme, come 2022, it is targeting not less than 1million informal sector, observing that this can only be achieve by coordinated efforts from every relevant stakeholders in the state.
“I am passionately appealing to all stakeholders here present to support the Government’s political will of reducing catastrophic out of pocket health expenditure of the Kaduna State residents.
“I wish to also call on the political office holders, philanthropists, corporate organizations and well do individuals to support the Less privileged in their communities by purchasing premiums for them so as to get them enrolled in the scheme. This will greatly assist the Authority in it’s quest to achieve its target of enrolling 1, 000, 000 residents of the state by the end of 2022, to meet the Universal Health Coverage target by the year 2030”, she said .
In her remarks, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Muhammed Baloni, explained, that the International Universal Health Coverage Day marked every 12th December, is the first to be organized in Kaduna State to commemorate the day themed: “Leaving No One’s Health Behind: Investing in health systems for all.
“This day was set aside to push for the global desire for every citizen to have access to quality healthcare services without any financial hardship. The fact that many participants have spared their valuable time to join in, serves as an indication of how important this program is to all of us.
“As you may be aware, the global health agenda now is “Universal Health Coverage”. This means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care across the life course.
“According to the 2019 UHC Global Monitoring Report, the world will need to double health coverage between now and 2030. It warns that if the current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will be unable to access health care in 2030.
“The Kaduna State Government has made giant efforts in improving its health systems and health outcomes by bringing healthcare services to the doorsteps of the citizens.”
“The government has demonstrated this commitments by conceiving the idea of establishing the Contributory Health Scheme to provide access to basic, quality and affordable healthcare with financial risk protection to all residents of the state. The scheme is built on the principle of solidarity where the rich pays for the poor, the young subsidized for the old and the healthy subsidized for the sick.
“The State Government has also earmarked 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the state to cater for the treatment of the vulnerable population (children under 5 years of age, pregnant woman, aged and people living with disabilities).
“This Administration has revitalized the Primary HealthCare Board by renovating, equipping and Staffing the 255 Primary Health Facilities in the 23 Local Government Areas of the State. These facilities have since been accredited to provide Primary HealthCare Services to beneficiaries of the Kaduna State Contributory Health Scheme and the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Programme.
“The BHCPF is another funding stream which the government is leveraging on to improve coverage of informal sector beneficiaries to meet the policy thrust of this event. Funding from the two gateways (NHIS and NPHCDA) would no doubt improve the health outcomes of the state in particular and the nation at large.
“I have no doubt in my mind that in no distant future, with all the efforts stated above, our healthcare facilities would continue to provide services good enough to improve the health of our dear citizens”.
She therefore appealed to the citizens of the state, particularly those from the informal sector which constituted about 97% of the total population of the state to key into the scheme and improve coverage, saying Government has earmarked 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the state to cater for the treatment of the vulnerable population (children under 5 years of age, pregnant woman, aged and people living with disabilities).
Similarly, the Advocacy and Campaign Coordinator of Save the Children International, Kaduna Office, Farouk Abdulkadir Mayana said world Bank report from June, 2020 to January, 2021 stated that there are between 119 to 124 million additional people into poverty in the world
“This is the first time in 20years largely due to COVID and imagine if this study is done now, the numbers could have doubled. Poverty leads to poor health and poor health leads to poverty, it’s a vicious cycle and a bottleneck to achieving UHC.”
“Financial barriers are not the only barriers to access quality health services, Equity is also a barrier, Women, PWDs etc, faces Barriers beyond financial hardship” he said
He assured the gathering that SCI will continue to partner with KADCHMA to ensure Kaduna residents get the Health coverage they needed.
