Oswald Agwu
Stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Schemes have applauded Governor Francis Nwifuru and the State Health Insurance Agency for raising the bar of universal health coverage in the state, and increasing service utilisation to over 400 percent in the last two years.
The Agency on Thursday organised a media conference to intimate journalists with its achievements in the two years of the governor’s administration.
The conference has in attendance the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Prof. Ogugua Egwu, and hisTrade Union Congress counterpart, Comrade Chidi Igboji.
Also in attendance were the representatives of the state traditional rulers council and leadership of Civil Society Organisations.
It was held at the Women Development Centre, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Delivering the Agency’s report card, the Executive Secretary, Dr. Divine Igwe, explained that the objective of the meeting was to highlight the key achievements of Governor Nwifuru through the Ebonyi Health Insurance Agency in delivering accessible and quality healthcare to the people over the past two years.
“This briefing aims to inform the media and the public about the milestones reached, share real life testimonies from beneficiaries and strengthen public trust and engagement in the ongoing transformation of the state health sector,” he said.
Igwe noted that the Agency in the execution of the political will of the governor and from its various packages increased enrolment from 34,500 to 137,133 in two years with current active enrollees of 86,175.
Apart from significantly increasing the number of healthcare service providers and hospitals, he said the agency has established digital solutions for seamless registration/enrolment and intensified training and retraining of staff and Healthcare providers for optimum performance.
He emphasised that between 2023 till date, the total enrolment into health insurance scheme of the state has risen to 137,133 enrollees, including 42,088 children under five years; 20,786 pregnant women; 15,644 elderly persons; 1,210 people with disabilities; and 41,783 other indigent persons.
Others included 8,061 formal sector enrollees, also known as Onwa Healthcare; 2,214 informal sector enrollees; and 5,347 enrollees under the Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Programme.
Igwe added: “In 2024 alone, EBSHIA enrolled 86,175 subscribers across 171 wards of the13 Local Government areas of the state, especially in rural regions, thereby cutting down the catastrophic medical expenditures of the residents of Ebonyi State.
“These include 22,100 Children Under 5 years; 15,064 pregnant women; 10,898 aged persons; 718 People With Disabilities; 2,177 indigent; 8,061 formal Sector (Onwa Healthcare); 2,214 informal sector; and 5,347 TISHIP enrollees.”
The Executive Secretary further noted that in the Agency’s pursuit of UHC, it has launched several innovative programmes, including: Adopt Your Community’ Initiative; Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Programme (TSHIP); and Global Fund Partnership to enroll over 29,000 persons living with HIV and Tuberculosis in Ebonyi State.
- Tinubu, others honour Braithwaite’s enduring legacy
- Lagos targets concealed vehicle plate numbers
- Kwara 2027: Bolarinwa joins race, pledges to address insecurity
- Richard Akinnola Foundation empowers journalists’ widows with N3.8m
- The Trinity of State Decay (II): Inside the loop of insecurity, by Max Amuchie
Igwe urged political office holders in the state to come together, adopt and enrol at least 1,000 persons in each of the 171 wards into the state health insurance scheme to further diminish maternal and infant mortality and stem the ravaging issue of high blood pressure threatening citizens’ lives on daily basis.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, and the EBSHIA Board Chairman, Elizabeth Ogbaga, in their separate remarks applauded Governor Nwifuru’s many interventions, especially in personnel, equipments, access and drug availability over the past two years, which has closed the hitherto existing gaps in the state’s health sector.
Dr. Ekuma explained that the present administration met only seven doctors for all state health facilities when it came on board to cover 14 general hospitals, but expressed thanks to the governor for boosting the number today to over 40 and for procuring modern equipment for the general hospitals, instituting a drug revolving fund and creating an agency to manage drug procurement and distribution in the state.
Joining other stakeholders to appreciate Governor Nwifuru, Labour leaders Egwu and Igboji, with the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Samson Nwafor, and a traditional ruler, Eze Boniface Nwokeocha from Abakaliki Local Government Area, said the Agency has demonstrated uncommon commitment in its mandate.
They called on the Agency to take its services to rural communities, while urging privileged citizens to sponsor health insurance enrollment for the less privileged individuals.
Nwafor, while commending the Agency for the public accountability forum, which he described as rare in the present day Nigerian political system, appealed to it to devise means of extending enrollment to Journalists in the state who do not belong to the formal sector.
Meanwhile, some beneficiaries of the Agency’s free medical services from the 13 local government areas of the state: Ukamaka Anyigor, Precious Adoke, Chioma Nnaji, Hannah Igwe, Somtochukwu Okoro, John Innocent Onyia, and Jacob Ogodo, testified of the effectiveness of the scheme, describing their experiences as exciting and memorable.
Ogodo, a hernia surgery beneficiary, testified: “We’ve never had it so good like this since the creation of the state.
“When I had this hernia problem, I was going down daily, thinking I was about to die.
“But the Agency, through this health insurance programme, came to my rescue, and I was treated, completely free of charge.”
