The Kebbi State Government has pledged to support the Kebbi State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KECHEMA) to reduce the cost of health services by the vulnerable citizens of the state.
State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu stated this during the launch and flag-off of the formal sector enrolment exercise into KECHEMA in Birnin Kebbi.
Bagudu, who was represented by Alhaji Umar Babale Yauri, Secretary to the State Government, assured the management, staff, and stakeholders that the state government will not fail in fulfilling all the promises made towards the success of the scheme in the state.
According to him, “I want to applaud the management and staff of this agency for working hard to ensure the success of the scheme in the state and its general acceptability. The high cost of health services led to the inaccessibility of the service by low-income earners. Only the Contributory Health Scheme could help us and make health services equitable to help each other.
“It is also one of the pillars of our religion, Islam and Christianity, that assisting each other is one of the fundamentals of the faith.
Bagudu also noted that the inauguration of the formal sector into the scheme would close the gap between the poor and the rich when citizens could access health services at any level.
He said, “At this juncture, the state government will meet up with its obligations on the quota given to the state government so that a large number of people will benefit from it.”
In his remark, Alhaji Jafar Muhammad, Commissioner for Health, who praised the State government for initiating the scheme in the state, stressed that the action of the present administration has started yielding good results as low-income earners are accessing health services easily across the state.
He noted that with 4,800 per year, enrolment of people into KECHEMA has continued to increase, while hospitals are partnering with the referral agency in the state.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of KECHEMA, Dr. Jafar Augie Muhammad disclosed that the agency targeted over 534,000 people after the inauguration of informal and formal sectors with about 89,000 principals.
In his remark, Alhaji Sofiyanu Garbage Bena. Acting Head of Service, recalled how he forwarded the request for a deduction of 3 percent from civil servants’ salaries into KECHEMA to the state Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, which was approved by him without delay.
Bena said that the benefit of the scheme to the civil servants is enormous ranging from quality health services delivery to accessible healthcare across the state. He also stressed that the scheme would put an end to high blood pressure common among civil servants since they would be going for regular medical checkups.
Alhaji Ibrahim Bashar, who represented the traditional rulers of Galadima Gwandu Emirate, appreciated the state government and KECHEMA for the introduction of the scheme in the state and stressed that the traditional rulers acknowledged their efforts in changing the health delivery service among their subjects.
The event was also attended by Comrade Murtala Usman, the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, and a representative of the United States Agency for International Development, Dr. Aisha Sechi, among others.
