By Eberechi Obinagwam
The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Nigeria, Blessing Ejiofor, has said that access to quality health is the right of every child.
Ejiofor stated this while addressing journalists in a media dialogue on improving access to health-care for children and women through social insurance scheme which was organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNICEF.
Ejiofor explained that the objective of the dialogue was to create opportunity for media advocacy in increasing access to health-care for children and vulnerable populations through the health insurance scheme using Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) as case study.
Ejiofor urged the media to assist in reporting issues that would prompt policy makers to take proactive steps and implement policies that would make life better for children, women and other vulnerable groups.
Executive Secretary of Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), Dr Olusola Akande said that health insurance in the state has recorded 100,000 enrollees in the last 18 months of its operations and that the agency’s target was to hit 450,000 to cover five percent of the population of the state in the next six months.
Akande said the goal of the health insurance was to provide quality health care services for the people of the state without experiencing catastrophic health expenditure.
He disclosed that no fewer than 100 pregnant women in the state have delivered through Caesarean section (CS) done under the health insurance scheme and that thousands of residents of the state have benefited from the scheme.
He said farmers in rural areas in Oyo State who wanted to enrol in the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) but lack the financial capacity to pay the premium for the enrolment have resorted to giving out their farm produce to the agency in lieu of cash.
“Many people who would have loved to enrol in our health insurance programme but lack financial capacity to pay the premium voluntarily agreed to give us yams and palm oil and other farm produce in lieu of cash to be paid for the premium.
“In the agency, we have set up a marketing section that is helping us to sell the yams and palm oil and other farm produce and when we sell them, we help the owners to keep the money until it is enough to pay the premium and enrol them,” he said.
Akande said OYSHIA has been rated very high in terms of performance and assured that the agency would not relent in making sure that the people of the state enjoy quality health-care without expending their entire savings on medical bills.
