Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, the Governor of Kwara State, Thursday, launched Kwara State Health Insurance Scheme, making it compulsory for all residents.
At the event at the state’s Banquet Hall, Ilorin, Governor Ahmed called on residents to register and take advantage of the statewide scheme to access affordable healthcare delivery in the state.
The governor maintained that the launching had taken the state closer to achieving the dream of universal health coverage by making the scheme accessible and compulsory to all citizens and residents.
According to the governor, “the Kwara Health Insurance Law also provides for the establishment of the Kwara Health Insurance Fund,
KHIF, which will pool resources from various sources including premium contribution from residents, the State Government subsidy for the very poor, multi-lateral grants, donations, support from the Federal Government and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)”.
Governor Ahmed disclosed that an initial N200m had been set aside as the state’s capitalization of KHIF to ensure the scheme is well funded.
The governor noted that the state is committed to contributing 1% of the annual Consolidated Revenue Fund and to subsidize premiums and service delivery to those considered part of the poorest in the society as well as 40% of funds received through the “Saving One Million Lives Performance for Results Initiative”—an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health, supported by the World Bank and targeted towards the improvement of maternal and child health in Nigeria.
“I have no doubt that this scheme is primed for success not only because it is guaranteed to be sustainable, well-funded and well managed, but also because it will leverage digital technology to promote efficiency, and transparency”, Dr Ahmed said.
In his remarks, the Deputy Ambassador of the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, Mr. Michel Deelen promised that the Dutch government would strengthen its partnership with the Kwara State Government to achieve universal health coverage in the state.
Packaged by Rahman Salami
