To give verve to the operation of the Abia State Health Insurance Scheme, Governor Alex Otti has approved a counterpart fund of N500 million for its immediate takeoff.
Also, the Governor has offered to pay 2.5% of the required 5% monthly contribution/deduction for the civil servants for three months to ensure there is no cog in the wheel of the scheme.
Explaining the details of the scheme, Abia State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu and his Health counterpart, Prof Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said the insurance scheme would enable the civil servants to enjoy medical services from service providers.
“By this development, all the state civil servants are supposed to enrol in the scheme. In his usual compassionate manner, His Excellency has agreed to provide the 2.5% contribution needed by the workers to enrol in the scheme for the first three months.
“Usually, they’re supposed to contribute 5 per cent from their basic salary every month but His Excellency has agreed to pay 2.5 per cent of that instead of 5 per cent to encourage them to enrol in this scheme,” Kanu revealed.
Kanu further disclosed that the State Government has approved the comprehensive upgrade and remodelling of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba to a befitting medical institution, which he added was in line with the Governor’s transformation agenda in the health sector.
He announced that the Abia State Specialist Hospital Umuahia has regained its Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s accreditation status for the training of medical interns, an exercise he said came with an increase in the training quota for the house interns from 24 to 36. He described it as a major milestone in the health sector of the State.
Also on the health sector, Prince Kanu announced that the 2024 Cancer Awareness Creation Day for Abia State, “The Changing Face of The Enemy: Reducing The Rising Prevalence of Cancer in Abia State,” would be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, with the Governor’s wife, Priscilla, as the keynote speaker and free screening for cervical and breast cancer as well as lectures. He also announced a shift in the date of the earlier scheduled groundbreaking of the USAID water project from November 20, to a later date.
On the Light-up-Abia Initiative of the state government, he said the installation of solar lights was ongoing in more than 28 locations across the three senatorial zones of the state. The idea, he explained, is to ensure every part of the state had solar light at night during the yuletide.
On the road infrastructure agenda, Kanu said Governor Otti would flag off the construction of the Ntigha-Mbawsi-Umuala road located at Isiala Ngwa North LGA on November 25, to add to other ongoing road projects.
Throwing more light on the Health Insurance Scheme, the Commissioner for Health Professor Uche said the services would be accessible three months after commencing the contribution, explaining that employees of the government would be entitled to four dependants in addition to their spouses.
He announced that Governor Otti has approved funds for the upgrade of the Amachara General Hospital to a world-class hospital, stressing that the government was using an integrated approach for the upgrade of medical facilities including primary, secondary and tertiary health care, to make the service accessible to citizens, especially the vulnerable group in any facility nearest to them.
