Kaduna Health Insurance Scheme Impacts 79,000 Pregnant Women, Children—Dep. Gov.

The Kaduna State Deputy Governor Hadiza Balarabe says the health insurance scheme in the state has impacted 79,000 pregnant women, children and vulnerable groups.

Balarabe stated this  in her keynote address at a two-day engagement meeting with the state’s 23  local government chairmen on health financing and leadership held in Abuja yesterday.

She said the strength of the Kaduna Contributory Health Management Agency lies in the formal sector with 98% of the sector enrolled in the scheme, while highlighting improvements in service delivery with significant benefits recorded for maternal mortality rates in the state.

She said; “Already, reports reaching us from the public facility indicate improvement in service delivery with significant gains recorded for maternal and mortality rates in the state. I also understand that 79,000 vulnerable groups including pregnant women and children have been impacted by this scheme in the state.

“The scheme is to facilitate access to quality and affordable healthcare for the residents of the state. This policy encourages residents to set aside little of their income while the government supports them for the days they require health intervention for themselves and their families.

“In this vein government commits 1% of its consolidated revenue fund to this project to specially target the vulnerable population in the state. This engagement will seek to enhance and further strengthen the state government’s resolve to universal health coverage through health insurance.”

She, however, said there was need to find creative ways to ensure more enrollment to cover the informal sector of the state which according to her, more of the state’s citizens are in.

Earlier in her remarks, the state commissioner for health,  Umma Ahmed, said the state had set priority in the health sector because they had achieved the World Health Organisation’s target for the health sector.

“Kaduna State has set priority in the health sector because we have achieved the WHO target for the health sector. So, we give prominence to the health and education sectors though we have lean resources, with the help of our development partners we have been able to make a breakthrough.

“We want to strengthen the healthcare scheme in the state, especially at the grassroots, that is why we brought the chairmen of the 23 local government councils of the state which will bring the people closer to the people to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.”