The River State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara has formally launched the State’s Public Sector Contributory Health Insurance Protection Programme.
The Insurance Scheme is designed to offer households a measure of financial protection against healthcare costs and help resolve inequality in the provision of available health services.
Governor Fubara launched the insurance scheme shortly after commissioning the Comprehensive Primary Health Centre in Ndoni Town in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
He charged the managers and handlers to be unbiased while administering the scheme so that the most vulnerable in the society are not deprived from accessing critically needed healthcare services.
The governor who became the first person to be enrolled into the scheme followed by the Deputy Governor, Prof Ngozi Odu, said the scheme must foster an inclusive and equitable healthcare access for the people of the State.
According to the governor, most families that could not afford expensive healthcare services can now leverage on the scheme insisting that funds released for the project must be properly and prudently utilised to achieve the intended purpose.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Rivers State Contributory Health Insurance Protection Programme, Dr Vetty Agala, said the scheme will enhance chances of achieving universal access to healthcare services in the State.
She explained that under the programme, women, people living with disability, the aged and children under five years can walk into the centre or where they are registered, show their cards and be attended to free of charge.
The Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme Bill was signed into law in June 21, 2021, but was never implemented until Governor Fubara reactivated the programme to enable residents and people of the State to participate.