Ebonyi Health Insurance agency unveils community adoption initiative

The Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency (EBSHIA) has unveiled the ‘Adopt Your Community Initiative” to extend quality healthcare access to all citizens of the state.

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The Executive Secretary, EBSHIA, Dr Divine Igwe, said this on Tuesday in Abakaliki while briefing newsmen.

He said the initiative would greatly benefit citizens especially those in the rural areas.

Igwe said the initiative aimed at building a strong safety-net which guarantees essential healthcare services without imposing financial hardship on beneficiaries.

“This initiative fosters a culture of collective responsibility and solidarity while representing a significant step towards achieving universal health coverage in the state.

“The initiative calls on political leaders, business owners, philanthropists, community leaders among others, to actively support the heath wellbeing of their communities.

“This can be done through adopting a village or community and funding their health insurance premiums to broaden healthcare access,” he said.

He said the initiative was considered due to the escalating cost of medical care which has forced many vulnerable citizens to seek care from unqualified practitioners.

“The situation leads to higher morbidity and mortality rates underscoring the urgent need for scalable efforts to close the coverage gap.

“The state government for instance, has enrolled nearly 87,000 individuals into health insurance programmes in 2024 but a large portion of the population remains uninsured,” he said.

Igwe said the cost of health insurance per person was N15,000 annually with the assurance of comprehensive approach to beneficiaries’ health care.

“The initiative mitigates catastrophic medical expenditures as the N3 million used for instance to discharge 20 patients from hospitals, can enroll 200 beneficiaries.

“This drastically reduces financial risks for families and encourages timely healthcare seeking behaviour.

“The initiative also builds political goodwill as leaders who champion their constituents’ health through this initiative, foster goodwill and trust” he said.

He thanked Gov. Francis Nwifuru and his wife for their invaluable support to the programme and general interventions in the state’s health sector.

“The governor has played monumental roles in revitalising the state’s health sector by employing health workers and adequately motivating them.

“The governor has procured equipment and medical consumables worth billions of naira including ambulances for the general hospitals.

“He has also inaugurated drugs and medical commodities management agencies while approving free health insurance for workers among others,” he said.

NAN/Wumi