From HUSSAINI MUHAMMAD BABA, Abuja
Adamawa State Government has said it will show its commitment to the implementation of the state Health Insurance Scheme.
This was stated by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mr. Kennedy Bartimaus made this accession at the stakeholders meeting on the scheme implementation in Yola.
The absence of the Governing Board for the Adamawa State Health Insurance Scheme (ASHIS) was motive behind the non-implementation of the scheme in the state, said Bartimaus.
He further stated that the meeting for stakeholders was organized to create awareness and enlightened stakeholders on the situation on the ground and to know the level of how the implementation of the program in the state.
Bartimaus also urged for more mobilization of the public on the laudable program which he said made provision for every citizen enrolled to enjoy affordable and quality healthcare.
In his remarks at the meeting, the Adamawa Head of Service, Mr. Edgar Amos, said the present administration of Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri will play a pivotal role in healthcare delivery and would soon constitute the ASHIS governing board.
In a presentation on the scheme, Dr. Ujulu Amos, the Head of Health Financing Unit in the Adamawa ministry of health, said ‘’research on the scheme showed that about 70 percent of Adamawa people reached out to indicated their willingness to join the scheme aimed at providing affordable and quality treatment to beneficiaries’’.
“With the scheme, about 70 percent of deaths, particularly maternal death would be addressed,” said Amos.
Amos said ‘’the scheme which required an annual payment of N4,720 per annum for individuals and N7,800 for a family of four also had provision for free medical care for the very poor in the society to be funded by the state government from an Equity Fund’’.
‘’Among those to get free treatment to be funded through the equity fund were vulnerable pregnant women, people with disability and 65 years old and above’’ said Amos
