Taraba state governor, Darius Ishaku on Thursday said, his administration inherited extensive decay in the health sector due to years of neglect by successive administrations in the state.
Ishaku however said, he was able to rescue the situation through efforts to save the lives of the citizens.
The governor who was represented by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, made the claims while speaking at the flagging off ceremony of the Taraba state Formal Sector Health Plan and the commencement of Access to Care for the over 26,000 enrollment of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
According to him, “Unfortunately, my administration inherited extensive decay in the health sector following years of neglect by successive administrations. But I am fulfilled as a governor because the Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (TSCHIA) that I started has not only matured but has also started yielding fruits.
“When I took over the rein of the leadership of the State as the Executive Governor, World Bank statistics rated Taraba State as one of the poorest States in Nigeria. Health indices of the State were abysmal. As the helmsman, I was determined to rescue the citizens of our dear State from the shackles of poverty and poor health indices.
“As a government, our strategy was to empower our citizens health-wise to get out of poverty since health, they say is wealth. When the opportunity to establish the State Social Health Insurance Agency came up, we did not hesitate to do so and we took our time as a government to develop a befitting ICT unit for the Agency. I am happy to note that the ICT Unit has started enrolling lives for the Agency.
“While we were trying to establish a State Social Health Insurance Scheme with a modern ICT to provide accessible, affordable, qualitative and sustainable healthcare services for all the residents of the State, we also had to make sure that the service providers, Primary Health Centres and government hospitals were fully prepared to render to our enrollees, the desired quality of healthcare delivery services that Nigerians need in the 21st Century.
“Within the limits of available resources, we were able to renovate and re-equip 168 Primary Health Centres, one in each of the 168 Political Wards of the State. The upgrading of Primary Health Centres was not carried out to the detriment of Secondary Health Care facilities.
“It is on record that three General Hospitals in Wukari, Gembu and Bambur were renovated and upgraded to the status of specialist hospitals. Interestingly, General Hospital Wukari was recently handed over to the Federal University Wukari as the Teaching Hospital of the university.
With these developments enrollees under the State Health Insurance Agency have more than enough Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Health Care Facilities that will attend to them in the event that they fall ill” The governor claimed.
Earlier, the Director General, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Prof. Mohammed Nasir Sambo, commended Governor Darius Ishaku for his continuous support to the State health sector and the NHIA Office in Taraba.
Sambo who was represented by the North-east zonal coordinator of the NHIA, Dabo Abdullahi, while lauding the effective functioning of the Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (TSCHIA), he however expressed that the agency required accompanying and adequate supply-side reforms to make the healthcare facilities ready and responsive to provide the expected quality health services.
According to him, the effort would explain why the simultaneous refurbishment of healthcare facilities in the state would go a long way in boosting and guaranteeing the optimal quality of healthcare services under the BHCPF and other programmes for the good of the citizens.
“Towards ensuring optimal uptake and patronage of the access to care programme, Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (TSCHIA) and the State Ministry of Health should ensure budgetary provision for its equity fund and 25% BHCPT counterpart fund in the State budget every year.
The NHIA would want to encourage all implementing agencies and partners in Taraba State to give this programme the needed support to achieve the required reduction of high out-of-pocket expenditure experienced by the people of Taraba State in the event of health challenges.
“I wish to call on the State Government to give more support to the State Contributory Health Insurance Agency to implement its formal and informal sector schemes to ensure the creation of a sustainable and robust pool of funds for effective cross-subsidization which is one of the cardinal principles of Social Health Insurance.
“I want to assure you that the NHIA would continue to support all programmes that will increase access to quality and affordable health care services to people of Taraba State and Nigerians at large”. The DG commended.
Meanwhile, Dr Innocent Vakkai, Taraba state Commissioner for Health, explained that the idea was Governor Darius Ishaku’s deliberate effort to ensure that citizens get access to quality health services.
The commissioner explained that the state government was out to portray a different narration on Nigerians fillings that the North-East and North-West Sub-regions of the country were amongst the poorest Sub-regions with unenviable high maternal and childhood mortality ratios in the country, and has decided to bring down the unacceptable high Childhood Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio by embracing and aggressively implementing the Social Health Insurance Scheme across the State.
“The provision of access to care for our enrollees under the BHCPF and the commencement of implementation of the Formal Sector Health Plan are two important milestones that Governor Ishaku is poised to flag off. The entire process will no doubt afford our citizens and residents the opportunity to access quality, affordable and sustainable health care delivery services without suffering undue financial hardship at the time of accessing such health services” Vakkai explained.
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