USAID donates enrolment devices to Plateau health agency

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated 13 sets of enrolment devices to the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA). USAID made the donation on Tuesday in Jos through its Local Health Systems Sustainability (LHSS) Project.

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Dr Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, Chief of Party of the USAID LHSS project, said the donation was to upscale the number of enrollees.

Olusola-Faleye stated that the gesture would provide the health agency with the needed number of devices to expand its ICT capacity for remote and onsite enrolment.

The chief party said that the scaling up of the devices was crucial for improved coverage, particularly in underserved areas, and to ensure that every resident, especially the poor and vulnerable, could be registered.

“Without this scale-up, the agency’s ability to meet the state’s health coverage goals and contribute to the Universal Health Coverage would remain severely constrained. This is what prompted the LHSS project to provide this in-kind grant to PLASCHEMA,” she said.

She further said that the 13 sets of devices donated would complement the 4 sets PLASCHEMA currently had, making a total of 17.

Olusola-Faley added the devices would be deployed to the 17 local governments of the state.

Dr Agabus Manasseh, Director-General (D-G) of PLASCHEMA, who received the grant-aided donation, said that the donation would add to the agency’s stock of equipment.

Manasseh that it would strengthen PLASCHEMA’S capacity in making decentralised enrolment of beneficiaries into the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and the Plateau State Social Health Insurance Scheme run by the agency.

The D-G commended the USAID for considering PLASCHEMA a beneficiary of the intervention.

“I consider that the time is indeed now, to ensure that no one is left behind in the state’s drive towards achieving universal health coverage, he said.

The items donated were 13 Samsung Galaxy Tablets for capturing beneficiary sociodemographic data, 13 signature pads for capturing beneficiary electronic signatures, and 13 fingerprint devices for capturing beneficiary fingerprints.

The other items donated were 17 portable solar charger power banks, 3 identity card dual-side printing machines, and 20,000 pieces of glossy white blank waterproof identity (ID) cards for the printing of enrolment cards for beneficiaries.

NAN/Wumi