Why FG Makes Health Insurance Scheme Compulsory For Citizens  -KECHEMAs Ex Sec

The new National Health Insurance Act NHIA 2022 approved by President Muhammadu Buhari has made it mandatory that every citizens of the country must be enrolled for the Health Insurance Scheme, the Executive Secretary of KECHEMA Dr. Jafar Muhammad Augie has said.

He made the disclosure at a two day Media engagement workshop organized by KECHEMA in Birnin Kebbi with support from USAID IHP.  Dr. Jafar explained that with the new development, States were also mandated to set up there own Social Health Insurance Schemes inline with the new Act and to achieve UHC.

He said KECHEMAs target was to enrol two million, five hundred thousand (2.5million) people into Kebbi Contributory Health Scheme Agency in the next five years. He commended the state government for enacting the law that established KECHEMA describing it as a means of ensuring affordable, accessible and quality health services to people of the state.

Dr Jafar noted that the scheme is inline with federal government policy of ensuring UHC with much emphasis on Women, Children under five and elderly in the society.
He further acknowledged with pride the contributions of Journalists in information dissemination, describing the media as one of the seven component of the health system.

Speaking earlier, the USAID IHP state Healthcare Financing Officer, Dr Aisha Aminu Senchi said the meeting was organized in realization of the fact that the media professionals are the key in championing most of the health related activities especially in the context of the laws and the health indices in the state. Dr. Aisha also urged the participant to avail themselves the opportunity to understand the concept and the skills on health financing for dissemination to the general public.

In his presentation, the USAID IHP state knowledge Management/ Communication Speacialist, Faruk Nano Bello highlighted the contributions of IHP to includes: Reductions in child maternal morbidity and mortality, Increase the capacity of Health systems whether public or private, supporting  PHC and services for Reproductive  Health. Others according to him are family planning, Maternal new born, child health, Nutrition and Malaria.

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