Edo Govt Earmarks N100m To Develop Health Sector

The Edo State Government has earmarked a total of N100 million as counterpart fund for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), to provide responsive, efficient and accessible health care through Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs).

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. David Osifo, disclosed this at a workshop on Health Workforce Registry, held in the state on Tuesday.

Osifo said the contribution is to enable the state benefit fully from the BHCPF of the Federal Government.

He further explained that the Edo State House of Assembly has passed the Health Insurance Bill into law, a development which he says will pave the way for the smooth running of the fund, even as other provisions for the take-off of the state insurance scheme take shape.

The BHCPF is the fundamental funding provision under the National Health Act, signed in 2014.

States are expected to benefit from the fund when they meet the requisite criteria, which includes contributing the counterpart fund.

“To ensure sustainability and ownership of the BHCPF, the states are expected to co-fund the BHCPF, beginning with an initial N100 million as part-expression of interest to implement the BHCPF,” he said.

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The states are also required to create state Health Insurance Agencies and state Primary Health Care Development Boards to serve as channels through which implementation would be monitored.

Governor Godwin Obaseki had recently inaugurated a 17-member Primary Health Care Board in the state to deepen the revamp of the state’s primary health care system.

He charged members of the board to support the vision of his administration in delivering quality and affordable health care to the people.