KDSG enrols 400,000 residents in state contributory health scheme

The Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA) says it has so far enrolled 400,000 residents in the State Contributory Health Scheme.

The Director-General, KADCHMA, Aliyu Saidu, disclosed this on Monday, during a one-day orientation workshop for social and community mobilisers for the scheme in Kaduna.

He said the 400,000 prospective beneficiaries represented five per cent of the population of the state.

Saidu said the health scheme targeted 800,000, about 10 per cent of the state population in 2020, but achieved only five percent due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained that the enrollment, which cut across the three senatorial districts of the state, included enrollees from the formal, informal sector and the vulnerable.

The official said the workshop was also taking place simultaneously in the three senatorial zones of the state.

He said it was meant to sensitise social and community mobilisers on the agency’s work plan modalities to enrol residents in the scheme.

According to him, the health scheme wishes to achieve coverage of 20 per cent of the population this year and keep growing by engaging community mobilisers for the enrollment.

“We are engaging the community mobilisers so they can help in the sensitisation and reaching out to residents on the importance of the health scheme.

“We are engaging them because they have working relationships with the traditional and community leaders as well as people at the grassroots.

“With the assistance of the community mobilisers, identification/enrollment exercise will record huge success in the state,” he said.

The director-general urged the participants to work hard and support the health scheme for better service delivery.

“We are having challenges of reaching out to the informal sector and that’s why we are engaging you,” he said.

Saidu appealed to the residents to enroll in the health scheme for good service delivery.

“You will only put N10, 680 for registration and it will save you a lot because you have a lot of benefits from the services.

“The services include emergency care, antenatal care, deliveries, neonatal care, surgical services, internal medicine, postnatal care and gynaecological care.

“Others are care for childhood illnesses, chronic disease management, ophthalmic care, family planning, immunisation, blood transfusion, dental care, X-ray services and laboratory services,” he stated.

The director-general said that the agency was also collaborating with the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to revitalise the scheme.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the state primary healthcare development agency, Hamza Abubakar, said the agency had demanded for the creation of the contributory scheme.

Abubakar said the two agencies were collaborating with the mobilisers to help in the sensitisation.

“The state government has also invested a lot of money in the renovation and upgrading of the 255 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).

“It has also spe t a lot on recruitment of 3,000 health workers for better quality services in every ward for enrollee’s privileges,” he said.

Abubakar appealed to residents of the state, especially the vulnerable, to enroll in the scheme to enhance their health status.