Kogiflame
Increased number of the poor and the indigent population in the various towns and communities in Offa and Oyun Local Governments of Kwara State will soon start to enjoin comprehensive health insurance coverage going by the resolve at an interactive meeting of the leadership of the various communities unions and associations in the 2 local governments with the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency (KWHIA) Dr. Mrs. Olubunmi Jetawo-Winter.
The online interactive meeting which was facilitated by the Abuja based Development Governance International Consult (DGI Consult), a development and health financing organization provided a platform for the Kwara Health Insurance Agency leadership to explain the various health insurance packages for the formal and informal sectors as well as for the poorest of the poor in the state.
The Executive Secretary of KWHIA also explained the ultimate goal of the agency which is to ensure coverage of the entire population of residents of Kwara State, a number in excess of three million people.
Dr. Mrs. Jetawo-Winter explained that the poor people to be covered is about one million of Kwara population. The Insurance scheme, according to her will also help in a gradual upgrade of the facilities in our various public healthcare centres to meet international standard.
She pleaded with the various communities in the state to help mobilize resources for inclusion of the poor under the health insurance in the state. Dr. Jetawo-Winter also used the opportunity of the online meeting to explain the process of enrolling beneficiaries under the social insurance schemes.
The meeting participants include members of the national executive committee of the various towns unions, the executive committee members of the home branch of the associations as well as representatives of the diaspora groups in Europe and North America.
Healthcare providers under the scheme also participated in the highly educative and enlightening session. Participants agreed on the need to mobilize all philanthropists, organizations and public spirited individuals within the communities to key into the programme so that the entire population of the poor in the state will be adequately covered.
The interactive meeting provided an opportunity for the participants to ask questions, seek clarifications, and offer suggestions on the various aspects of the health insurance scheme in the state.
In his remarks during the interactive session, the Managing Partner of DGI Consult, Dr. Gafar Alawode harped on the importance of ensuring health insurance coverage for all segments of the population as the communities and the states are going to be the ultimate beneficiaries.
He urged the various unions and associations to work together with the ward health committees, the traditional institutions and the various religious associations within the communities to mobilize resources for the health insurance.
He also urged the towns unions to always take embark on enlightenments in their communities to ensure beneficiaries, on their part also access the care provided for them under the scheme.
He decried a situation where enrollees refuse to access care due to ignorance.
Dr. Alawode commended the KWHIA for the initiative of leveraging on the opportunities provided by technology to interact with critical stakeholders in the implementation of health insurance scheme.
He urged the agency to take the interactions to all the local governments and involving all the community associations and unions as was done for Offa and Oyun.
Some of the communities in the two local governments are Offa, Erin-Ile, Ipee, Igosun, Ijagbo, Ojoku, Irra, Ikotun, Igbonna, Ilemona, Inaja, Ahogbada, Igbawere and others.
