×

Kwara Govt Launches General Hospital, Commissions Health Insurance Scheme

The Kwara State Government has commissioned one of the five renovated, upgraded general hospitals in Share the headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government area of the … Continue reading Kwara Govt Launches General Hospital, Commissions Health Insurance Scheme


The Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed
The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed

The Kwara State Government has commissioned one of the five renovated, upgraded general hospitals in Share the headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government area of the state and the launch of the Community Health Insurance Scheme to boost the healthcare delivery in the area.

The Government also reinstated its commitment to provide and improve at least 50 primary health care centers across the state annually, as part of its Shared Prosperity Programme.

The State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, while commissioning the newly renovated, upgraded general hospital and launching the Community Health Insurance Scheme on Wednesday spoke of his administration’s resolution to further improve access to quality health services at all levels.

He further told the gathering that the State Government believed that the well beings of the state residents were fundamental to the socio-economic development of the state, stressing that “good health is a necessary precondition for progress as poor health invariably impedes socio-economic productivity and human capital development”.

Governor Ahmed, who spoke glowing about the Community Health Insurance Scheme programme, submitted that the programme involved the provision of subsidized health insurance and accessible health care to the rural dwellers for as little as 300 Naira per annum as well as the upgrading of healthcare facilities to ensure quality.

The Governor emphasized that it was an ideal example of the much-recommended public-private partnership, as it involves the State Government, the Dutch Health Insurance Fund, Hygeia Community Healthcare, and Pharm Access Foundation with public and private healthcare providers in the state as about 80,000 people, majority of them women and children, have subscribed to the program in all three senatorial districts of the state.

The Governor, who noted with satisfaction that the scheme had recorded tremendous achievements since its commencement in the last 7 years in the state, disclosed that the Government intended to scale-up to 600,000 low-income subscribers in rural communities by 2018, with the premium subsidy entirely paid by the Government.

Also speaking, the representative of the Netherlands Government, Ms Aaltje de Roos applauded the State Government for its policies and programmes on health.

She applauded the initiative of the State Government which she emphasized has been yielding good results since 7 years ago when the health insurance scheme was established.

He also appealed to the people to troop out en-masse and register, saying that with just N500 they would have access to all kinds of diagnosis for a year.

The Chairman, Dutch Health Insurance Fund, Mr. Kees Storm, echoed the same by commending the Government for its effort in being the frontrunner in establishing health insurance scheme in the country.

Another partner to the health insurance scheme is Hygeia Community Health Care whose Managing Director, Dr. Adenusi Olapeju noted that the commissioning of the general hospital would enhance the provision of the best healthcare to beneficiaries of the Health Insurance Scheme.

The general hospital in Share the headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state is among the five earmarked for renovation and upgrading by the State Government two years ago. The remaining four are in Offa, Kaiama, Ilorin and Omu Aran where the projects are also completed and waiting for commissioning.

The launching of the community health insurance scheme in Share, brings it to four local governments that are now benefiting from the scheme.