The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has launched the state health insurance scheme to provide quality and affordable healthcare to residents of the state
The scheme featured the enrollment of about 10,000 indigents who were captured in a statewide registration of indigents for the scheme in March 2020.
While launching the scheme, AbdulRazaq who said the launch of the scheme was another major step in his administration’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), called on residents to take full advantage of the scheme.
“A major agenda of this administration is to ensure that Kwara State ticks all the right boxes and achieves the SDGs by 2030. This is beyond empty slogans. Yesterday, we began the disbursement of Owo Isowo to 21,623 petty traders under our social investment programme. The KWASSIP, which also includes safety nets for the aged and vulnerable, seeks to end extreme poverty in our state,” he said.
“The launching today of this health insurance scheme is a direct response of the administration to the goal 3 of the SGDs which is access to good health and well-being. We are starting this scheme by onboarding at least 10,000 indigents as a test run. These indigents have had their premium fully paid. This means the health insurance is 100% free for the indigents. We hope to enrol many more indigents in the coming years.
“I commend our partners for their support and the leadership and staff of the health sector in Kwara State for their hard work. I specifically commend the leadership of the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency for seeing this through. We are also proud as an administration to have made the necessary investments in that regard.
Abdulrahman said the scheme would boost the life expectancy of indigents just as it would also strengthen the economy. He, therefore, urged the public to take advantage of the scheme as his administration is committed to ensuring a healthier environment.
“Health insurance scheme boosts the life expectancy of our people, promotes good health, and ultimately strengthens the economy. It has the potential to prevent families from sudden fall into poverty as a result of unforeseen health crisis. The insurance scheme takes care of basic health issues before they become complicated. Studies have shown that most of the health issues found in secondary and tertiary health institutions arose majorly because they were not tackled on time.
“I, therefore, urge people in the formal and informal sectors — who are to pay a token as their own premium —to enrol in the scheme. It is cheap, affordable, accessible, and is supported by carefully selected functional facilities and committed medical experts in the state.”