Borno provides free healthcare for 46,000 vulnerable people

News Agency Of Nigeria 19:25 - 26 April 2023

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Borno state Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum said ‘I try to resist shading tears while distributing relief materials to IDPs’. [Twitter/@ProfZulum]

The Borno government has enrolled 46,000 vulnerable persons under its free healthcare scheme to enhance quality healthcare service delivery in the state.

Dr Saleh Abba-Kaza, Executive Secretary, Borno State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (BOSCHMA), stated this at a news conference on Wednesday in Maiduguri.

He said the beneficiaries comprised vulnerable persons, pregnant women, children under the age of five, the poor, People Living with Disabilities and the aged.

The Secretary said the beneficiaries were receiving free medical treatment under the programme in line with the provisions of the National Health Act 2014.

He said that 183 primary healthcare facilities had been accredited to provide services to the beneficiaries while 13 additional PHCs were awaiting accreditation across 25 local government areas of the state.

The agency, he said, was geared towards ensuring access to quality, affordable and equitable healthcare services to all through sustainable healthcare financing.

"To ensure sustainable healthcare financing and free healthcare for the vulnerable people of Borno, the state governor offered 1% of the consolidated revenue of the state and local government council to purchase efficient healthcare services for the vulnerable people.

"A take-off grant of ₦‎100 million was released to the agency by the state government in April 2020 for the smooth operationalisation of the agency including the hiring of a temporary office, purchase of utility vehicle, office infrastructure, ICT infrastructure, enrolment of the formal sector, etc.

"So far, BOSCHMA received the sum of ₦‎418.9 million in 2021; ₦‎557 million in 2022, and ₦‎337 million in 2023. Cumulatively; about ₦‎1.3 billion grant through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

"The state has been funding the Zulum-Special Health Intervention Programme (Z-SHIP) for free healthcare to people with special needs," he said.

According to him, the agency has concluded plans to enrol 100,000 civil servants into the programme, to tackle the effect of out-of-pocket health financing through sustainable healthcare financing and the creation of a health safety net.