The Edo State Government has concluded plans for the launch of the state’s Compulsory Health Insurance Scheme on Thursday, October 31, which will ensure that affordable healthcare is accessible to residents in the state.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the governor, at the event, will be launching the Social Health Insurance Scheme/Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and the 20 revamped Primary Healthcare Centers under the Edo State Health Improvement Programme (Edo-HIP) at the Ofunmwengbe Primary Healthcare Center in Okada, Ovia South-West Local Government Area.
According to him, “The State Government has recorded a number of achievements in the health sector, which includes rehabilitation of the 20 primary healthcare centers in the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state; enactment of the compulsory Health Insurance Law to reduce out-of-pocket expenses on healthcare and the repair and opening of the Edo Specialist Hospital.
Others include training of over 500 midwives, nurses and community health extension workers on best practice for care delivery and establishment of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) and Infectious Disease Isolation Center.”
He added that the focus of Edo-HIP is to strengthen the primary healthcare system; provision of access to specialist care for most common ailments and healthcare financing to ensure the system is sustainably run.
The governor’s aide said the source of the funding for the healthcare coverage are the basic healthcare provision fund and equity fund, noting that some of the benefits for those registered on the plan include, “Antenatal care; referred antenatal care to secondary healthcare facility; ultrasound in pregnancy; induction of labour; normal delivery and post-natal care; caesarean section in secondary healthcare facility and management of eclampsia, maternal sepsis and newborn sepsis.”
“Others are child OPD treatment (children under 5 years); referred child treatment to secondary health facility, treatment of severe acute malnutrition; immunization; malaria treatment in adults; chronic disease screening; family planning; emergency stabilization and emergency ground transportation,” he added.