By Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi
Benue State Government has spent over one billion naira for the take off of Benue Health Insurance Scheme in the state.
Executive Secretary of Benue Health Insurance Agency (BNSHIA) Dr. Kenneth Korve said the funds spent was to ensure affordable and accessible health care for all Benue people, including of Primary Health Care (PHC) centres across the 23 local government areas .
Speaking at sensitization workshop for Local government chairmen and directors of local government health authorities in Makurdi, Dr. Korve stated that when the health insurance scheme finally take off in the state ,the people will no longer have problem accessing health care delivery.
He said there is high desire of Nigerians to access quality health care but they are paying high out of their pockets, a development he said is no longer fashionable.
The Executive Secretary of BNSHIA said many countries in the world have moved out of the arrangement of paying for health service from their pockets to Heath insurance .
He said the workshop to sensitized civil servants, so that when deduction are made from their monthly salaries, they would understand.
On his part the Executive Secretary Benue State Primary Health Board , Dr. Ben Ageda, said there is huge gap in health care delivery at the local government level and urged the local government chairmen to fill in the gap.
Dr. Ageda appealed to the chairmen of Local Governments to take care of the silent people ( rural dwellers ) so that tertiary health institutions would be made easy .
Coordinator, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Chris Okoh, stated that every Benue indigene must have access to quality health with out hindrance.
Mr. Okoh said that Every Local Government must make contribution from their salaries and used it to buy health services and urged the chairmen to key into the health insurance scheme.
He said under the health insurance scheme health facilities must meet basic standard to serve the health need of the people.
Chairman of ALGON and Guma Local Government chairman Hon.Caleb Abandoned assured that he will mobilized council chairmen to key into the health insurance scheme
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