Jigawa Govt Releases N1.5b for Free Basic Healthcare Services

By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

The Jigawa state government, under governor Malam Umar Namadi has released N1.5b for the provision of free basic healthcare services for registered 143,500 vulnerable across the 27 local government areas of the state.

This was disclosed by the Technical Adviser (TA) to the governor on health matters, Comrade Isah Surajo in a speech delivered at a one day town hall meeting with relevant stakeholders held at conference Hall new Secretariat Dutse.

The Technical Adviser explained that, the programme which is under Jigawa Health Equity Fund (JHEF) is meant to address the health disparities that underline Nigeria’s health system.

According to him “It is meant for the attainment of the highest level of health for all residents of Jigawa state, where every resident has a fair and just opportunity to attain optimal health regardless of ethnicity, disabilities, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography or other factors that affect access to Care and health outcomes”.

Comrade Surajo indicated that the programme will focus on the provision of Basic Minimum Package of Health Services (BMPHS) to poor and vulnerable population, in line with state’s desire to accelerate it’s journey towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.

He maintained that, the target groups must be from poor and vulnerable household including pregnant women, elderly group 65 years and above, people with disabilities, sickle cell disease patients, HIV patients and orphans.

The Technical Adviser urged the people of the state to cooperate and support the move for the success of the program and for better health system across 27 local government of Jigawa state.

On his part the commissioner for health, Dr Abdullahi Kainuwa said the Malam Umar Namadi’s led administration had redesigned the healthcare delivery system through massive constructions and renovations of health facilities across the state for affected healthcare delivery system for all.

Dri Kainuwa explained that “under this project (JHEF) the state government has set aside N500 million as fee for service. This is another project that would take care and settle any medical case of the registered vulnerable above primary healthcare services”.

“As it is designed that the JHEF is to provide primary Healthcare service only, but in a situation where a registered person under this programme needs an emergency secondary or tertiary health attention, the referral facility would provide the service and government would settle the bills”.