By Dare Akogun
THE National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), as part of its core responsibilities towards ensuring universal health coverage, has organised a workshop for stakeholders in the health sector in Kwara State.
The One-day retreat was targeted at improving the performance of the State Oversight Committee of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
The programme was well attended by participants drawn from the health sector and the collaborating agencies, as stipulated in the operation guidelines for the country.
The workshop was declared open by the alternate Chairman of the State Oversight Committee Abubakar Ayinla, who also doubles as the Permanent Secretary, Kwara State Ministry of Health.
Ayinla explained that the State Government, under the leadership of AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has fully aligned the state health care with the tenets of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, with a view to making the accomplishment of Universal Health Coverage feasible.
“Apart from the provision of the state commitment fund consistently since 2019, the present administration has also embarked on strategic infrastructural rehabilitation to make the Primary Health Centres accessible and suitable for service delivery, in accordance with global standards”, Ayinla said.
The alternate Chairman appreciated the role of the NHIS and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency for designating the state for the workshop.
Also speaking, the General Manager and Zonal Coordinator for the National Health Insurance Agency in-charge of Kwara, Kogi and Niger States, Emmanuel Abereona urged participants to be attentive to ensure maximum benefit from the National Funding System.
The facilitators of the workshop commended the State Government for implementing the One-PHC per ward health-care delivery strategy of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund in the State.
One of the resource persons, Agboola Olasunkanmi called for more sensitization to increase coverage so that more people can benefit from the health care intervention fund.
