Nigeria: Health Insurance, Key to Healthy Living - FG
11 01 08 - 13:02
11 January 2008
Posted to the web 11 January 2008
Hammed Shittu
Ilorin
Minister of Health, Professor Adenike Grange yesterday said that the only way to bring cheap health care delivery to the grassroots is to intensify efforts aimed at developing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
She said achieving this demands that the 36 states of the federation brace up to the challenge of delivering adequate health care to the doorsteps of the rural populace through the health insurance scheme.
Grange stated this in Ilorin while paying a courtesy call on the Kwara state governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki in his office.
The Minister said the importance of health care delivery to the people of the grassroots cannot be over emphasized,imploring the people to cooperate with themselves to reduce infant mortality and other related children diseases in the local areas.
While calling on the state government to extend the Dutch Government -sponsored community health insurance scheme in Shonga, Edu local government area of the state to other areas, Grange said that the gesture would allow the government to bring such scheme to at least four other local government areas in the state.
According to the Minister who was on a two- day working visit to the state, the health insurance scheme was one the best ways through which the populace at the grass root level could get easy and cheap access to health care.
Grange, who also spoke on secondary health care, urged all state governments in the country to provide at least four more general hospitals in the New Year. With respect to tertiary health care, she said there was a great need for the states and local governments to collaborate with the federal government to develop it properly.
Grange urged Saraki to assist in providing good road and potable water at the newly refurbished University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital's permanent site along old Jebba road.
She nonetheless commended the Governor for his enviable performance in the area of health care delivery as well as the maintenance of a very clean environment in the state capital, Ilorin.
In his response, Saraki assured the Minister that his administration would do its best in expanding the community health insurance scheme to other local government areas of the state. He noted that there could never be proper development in the health care sector in the country without the federal government collaborating with other tiers of government.
"Health care delivery has been a major focus of my administration since its inception in 2003," Saraki said. He asked for the assistance of the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Health to the state government in getting more partners from Europe in developing health care to world standard.