For 37,500 indigent persons, aged, children and pregnant women, these are good times for them in Oyo State.
The state, under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, would enroll them to enjoy free basic health services in government hospitals across the 33 local government areas.
Making this disclosure at the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency, OYSHIA, training for implementers of the project in Oyo town, Taiwo Ladipo, Oyo health commissioner, explained that the project will span three months.
It was learnt that the training was put together after the state had met the preconditions for the fund to increase resources for health and extend PHC services to all Nigerians.
Ladipo said that the fund, which is being disbursed through the State’s Primary Health Care Development and Health Insurance Agencies and Emergency Medical Treatment gateway, is an opportunity that must be tapped into.
He said: “It is the best opportunity that we can ever have. It is expected that the downtrodden will be taken care of, cut down out-of-pocket spending on health and importantly, the reorientation of services across the hospitals and health facilities across the state.”
On the commitment of Oyo State government to all of these, Ladipo explained that “Before this fund reached the state, some preconditions were met by the state including finances, enabling environment and physical structure and these were met before this was brought into the state.
“So as such the state has made a lot of commitments into this matter. I might not need to reel out what it is in financial matters but the state has shown a lot of commitment, courage and support for this and going forward I think the state will still continue to do so because it talks about what they expected for the issues pertaining to utilization of heart-pocket expenses and more importantly, the rendition of services across hospitals and facilities across the state.
Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Muideen Olatunji, stated that healthcare financing, including out-of-pocket spending, is a major obstacle to ensuring health for all and it is being addressed through health insurance.
He declared: “The health insurance would provide the required funds to make the health services move forward. This will be implemented with additional fund from PHC and will resort into having qualitative healthcare service delivery for the citizenry.”
“Asking for the stake of primary healthcares is like you are asking for the foundation of a house that needs to be built. Primary Healthcare is an outlet of health service delivery. The essence is to have a quantitative and affordable healthcare system in the country. Towards doing this, we will be talking about the component role that will be played by the Primary Healthcare board again as a motivator from the Health Insurance Scheme component. ITs like you are talking about the fuelling of the car. The Health Insurance would provide the required fuel to make the health service move forward and this will be complemented by the addtional fund from the Primary Heatlhcare end. This will now result in having a qualittative healthcare delivery system for the citizenry.
Speaking on the development, OYSHIA’s Executive Secretary, Dr Olusola Akande, said the training had 99 participants, including all medical officers at the LGAs, 33 health educators and chairmen of the Ward Development Committees, and will ensure that the right people are enrolled into the scheme for the next one year.
“Healthcare delivery is cardinal to the heart of the Oyo State Governor. If we fail in enrolling the indigent and the poor of the poor into the scheme, we have failed,” he added.
Akande Abiodun, deputy director, planning research and statistics, at the ministry of health explained that “Any moment from now, we want to start the full implementation of the basic heathcare provision fund in Oyo State. The fund is one for less privileged people in the state to have access to basic healthcare services.
”BHCPF is a fund from Consolidated Revenue Fund, CFR. One percent of CFR is what the federal ministry of health is disbursing to each state. So this one has been mandated to each state and we have a percentage that each of the gateway should spend. Health insurance happens to be one of the gateway; primary healthcare board happens to be the second gateway and the third one is for emergencies. So for the angle of health insurance that is why health insurance gateway is conducting two-day training for all the health insurance like the medical officer of health, OIC of health, health educators and ward community leaders because basic healthcare provision is for the three to come together so as to improve healthcare delivery in the state.
“The beneficiaries would cut across the children less than 5 years, the pregnant women, elders and for the less privileged,” he added.
On the stake of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Bore Emmanuel, its state coordinator, said “NHIS is a rival in the process of this of basic healthcare provision fund. You would remember NHIS is the gateway just like we have the national primary healthcare gateway too. So we are driving the process to ensure that the programme yield good fruits that is desired by the government.”
He revealed why Oyo has not made use of the fund to optimum level.
“Yes, like I was asked sometimes ago from Abuja that what is happening that Oyo State has not commenced registration of the fund release. I know different state are logged in at different point in time. It does not really give everybody the same time. So while some are still preparing their way others have tidied up things and have started the process.”
