Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo has announced a N250 million start-up capital for health insurance scheme in the state.
He made the announcement at the official flag-off ceremony of Imo State Health Insurance Scheme (IMSHIS) held at the Trade and Investment Centre, Owerri, where he said health insurance scheme was a necessity for quality life and should be embraced by individuals, governments, and corporate organisations.
According to the governor, the health insurance scheme would enable people to access health care services at all times “as somebody somewhere had already paid for the services and urged all to embrace it.”
Okorocha described the health sector as one of the key social infrastructures providing the pivot on which life of the people and their environment revolved.
He said: “Health and education are interwoven. Health is key to the existence of human beings, yet people pay very little attention to this aspect of life.
“One of the health challenges in the state is health education. If you eat right, live in a clean environment, do a little bit of exercise with enough rest, you have a good health, yet majority of people neglect these areas.”
The governor said the programme would be get to the grassroots as it was needed by the less privileged.
“There are diseases the people, the family cannot carry, but which could be handled by these scheme.
READ ALSO: Buhari’s govt. borrows $10bn since 2015 – Osinbajo
“Imo government knew the importance of health, hence we built the Imo Foundation, the Ochiedike Diagnostic Centre and the 27 general hospitals in the state for the health benefit of the people,” he said.
Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Dr. Kinsgley Ashiegbu, described the take-off of the scheme as an epoch making event which would redefine health care in Imo adding that it would impact on the human development indices of the state, create employment and wealth.
The minister promised to support the programme it to succeed.
The WHO Country Representative, Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, also commended the state government for initiating the scheme noting it would help protect the population of the country and ensure that the best primary health care was provided with subsidy for the poor who would not be able to pay.
Dr Angela Uwakwen, the state Commissioner for Health, expressed appreciation to the state government and WHO for making the programme launch a reality.
She said that with the flag-off of the scheme, qualitative and affordable health care for Imo citizens were set for full realisation and enjoined the people to key into it as some hospitals would be accredited for the purpose.
Mr. John Onyeokoro, the Executive Secretary, Imo State Health Insurance Agency (IMSHIA), said that increased investment in health and human capital development were drivers of economic development.
He described Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a well thought out strategy by the Federal Government to achieve improvement in the health of the greater number of Nigerians as well as citizens of other nations.
He said the Presidential Summit on UHC, held in March 2014 in Abuja, laid the foundation for the ongoing focused actions directed towards empowering states to develop social health insurance.
The scheme is organised of the Imo State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
