Kogi State Government has enrolled 32,000 civil servants and 41,597 vulnerable population into its health insurance scheme.
Governor Usman Ododo said this during the official inauguration of the scheme in Lokoja on Wednesday.
According to him, the government has enrolled 32,000 beneficiaries in the formal sector plan and 41,587 under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
He said “the scheme is part of my administration’s 10 years Strategic Plan called — Kogi State Health Insurance Agency (KGHIA) from 2024-2033.
“I’m delighted over the successes so far recorded in the enrolment of civil servants and indigent population to ensure access to quality healthcare delivery.”
The governor said that providing quality healthcare services to civil servants through health insurance would no doubt go a long way in boosting productivity and the economy of the state.
He said already there were about 858 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) which had been under-productive across the 21 local government areas of the state.
“We have made provision to revamp, rebuild and upgrade 63 PHCs in the first phase of our intervention; three in each of the 21 local government areas of the state.
“This is to ensure quality healthcare delivery to the vulnerable and indigent population at the grassroots.
“My administration will continue to consolidate on the successes recorded in the health sector by our leader, Ex-Gov. Yahaya Bello.
“I want to assure you that we have the political will and commitment to do the best for our people, especially the downtrodden.”
He urged the management of KGSIA to redouble efforts to ensure that the people received full benefits of the scheme, irrespective of political, tribal, ethnic or religious affiliations.
Ododo commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the people of Kogi through the provision of BHCPF to cater for the wellbeing of the people under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said “Mr President has shown trust, confidence and believe in the capacity of the younger generation and this has provided a stable platform for the Kogi State government to deliver good governance to the people.”
He said that Bello’s vision and efforts at initiating KGSIA provided solid foundation for the development of access to healthcare by a reasonable spectrum of the population of the state.
Earlier in goodwill messages, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, the Director-General, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA); and Dr Muyiwa Aina, the Executive Secretary, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), both commended the governor for the gesture.
They assured the governor of continuous Federal Government support through its various agencies to improve quality healthcare delivery to the people.
In his remarks, the Kogi Commissioner for Health, Dr AbdulAzeez Adeiza, said the scheme would mark the end of out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare in Kogi.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of KGSIA, Dr Aledare Adekunle, said the state had made a good start in the journey to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with about 122,046 persons, including private individuals, who had already enrolled to access quality care.
He assured that the agency would continue to implement key strategies as documented in the state’s 10 years strategic plan to achieve 60 per cent coverage of the state’s population.
He added that “KGSHIA carries the moral burden of accelerating the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Kogi State and we will continue to ensure no one is left behind.”
