•We now have over 70,000 enrollees - Exec Sec

•Scheme is beneficial - stakeholders

Kwara State First Lady, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, Officials of National and Kwara State Health Insurance Agencies, healthcare services providers and sponsors on Tuesday met in Ilorin on strengthening healthcare financing to lessen the burden of healthcare on the vulnerables and indigent population.

Organised by the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency, the stakeholders resolved on the need to strengthen advocacy on attracting more sponsors for the indigent population and promote access to subsidised healthcare services across the state to achieve universal health coverage.

In her remarks, Ambassador AbdulRazaq who was represented by Deputy Director Ajike People Support Centre, Ganiyu Olarewaju Opeloyeru, applauded the agency for securing the needed support of all stakeholders for improved outcomes in the health sector.

"I am proud to identify with the laudable activities of Kwara State Health Insurance Agency and by extension the health programmes of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration. I am aware of your efforts in ensuring that more people are carrying along in agency's activities. More people are now keying into the health insurance scheme.

"I am also proud of your intervention in the Kwara State School for Special Needs," Ambassador AbdulRazaq said.

She appreciated the service providers and sponsors and other relevant for their collaborative efforts and urged them to always be in the same page with the state health insurance agency for positive results.

Others in attendance were representative of Head of Service and Permanent Secretary Service Welfare; Salami S Tunde, representative of Ministry of Health, Dr Oyeyipo Olabisi Adebusola; representative of State Coordinator National Health Insurance Authority Ahmed Yahaya and representative of National Health Insurance Authority, Standard and Quality Assurance (SQA) Unit Kwara State, Saka Ismail Agboola.

Speaking with newsmen at the sideline of the stakeholders engagement with sponsors and service providers Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr Olubunmi Jetawo-Winter, announced that the agency has over 70,000 enrollees in the list of its healthcare service providers.

"In September 2020 the programme officially kicked off, the agency had 10,000 enrollees but now we have about 70,000 people enrolled in health insurance. That is even without the formal sector. When the civil servants come on board, we are looking at additional 200,000 people", she said.

Dr Jetawo-Winter said financing health insurance was expected to come from different stakeholders including the government and sponsors.

The Executive Secretary explained that subsidizing health care services would go along way in ensuring that people have access to affordable healthcare delivery.

"As it stands in Kwara now, we have about 30 percent population who falls under poverty index and who we are really poor. We need to subsidize them and this is where these invaluable sponsors come in because they go in to their communities or catchment areas and mob up these indigents who ordinarily we have not gotten to because the physical space for financing the poor is limited and these people have to be covered and renewed on a yearly basis.

"So, these sponsors come in, pick up the population of people and pay on their behalf so they can have access to quality and affordable healthcare services," she said.

Jetawo-Winter explained that the agency started with about 25 healthcare providers both in public and private hospitals but today the number has increased to about 60 of them providing health services across the 16 local governments.

"This engagement is about discussing the financing mechanism to get us to cover all the residents of Kwara especially the indigent population. There three categories of people that we cover from formal and informal sectors. Financing health insurance will come from different financing segments - government will contribute a part as subsidy for the poor," Executive Secretary added.

Some of the participants who spoke at the stakeholders engagement included representative of Cottage Hospital Ijagbo Mutalib Moshood; representative of CHL Healthcare Services Offa Mrs Latifah Lateef; Representative of General Hospital Ilorin Zubair Ibrahim Dasuki; Representative of LEAH Foundation Ismail Sanni; and representative of Offa Descendants Union of North America (ODUNA) and Kwara State Association of Nigeria North America (KSANG) Dr Sariyu Kola-Oyewole.

The stakeholders spoke on the success stories of the scheme, identified various challenges and deliberated on the way forward.

They agreed that the scheme is beneficial and promised to carry out intensive sensitisation programmes to improve access to health facilities.

Also speaking, the Principal, Kwara State School for Special Needs, Mr Abdulganiyu Olododo appreciated that Agency for its support to healthcare delivery of pupils and students of the school.

"The Agency has transformed ordinary clinic to a mini hospital. Our hospital has been equipped by the Agency. Also, Kwara Health Insurance Agency has opened account for us to buy drugs every month and promised to give us more staff. So, on behalf of the school management and students of the school, we appreciate all your efforts," the Principal added.