The South-South Development Commission (SSDC) has enrolled 1,666 vulnerable women, children and elderly persons in the Cross River State Health Insurance Scheme as part of efforts to expand access to affordable healthcare and strengthen universal health coverage in the region.
The initiative, which was officially flagged off in Calabar, aims to reduce the financial burden of healthcare on economically disadvantaged persons and ensure that vulnerable groups can access essential medical services without being pushed into poverty.
Speaking at the event on behalf of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the SSDC, the Commission’s Director of Social Services and Human Capital Development, Preye Aganaba, said the intervention was part of the commission’s mandate to advance human capital development across the South-South region.
He explained that the programme was designed to assist people facing financial barriers to healthcare, particularly women, children and older persons in underserved and hard-to-reach communities, where the cost and distance of accessing medical facilities often discourage families from seeking treatment.
He urged the implementation team to ensure that every enrolment slot went to an eligible beneficiary, calling for proper verification, the prevention of duplicate enrolments and deliberate efforts to reach underserved communities.
The SSDC representative also emphasised the need for effective follow-up to ensure that beneficiaries understood the benefits of their insurance coverage, knew the facilities where they could access treatment and had information on where to seek assistance when necessary.
He disclosed that the programme would be extended to all six South-South states, namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers. He added that Cross River was selected for the first flag-off because of the state’s responsiveness and cooperation with the commission.
The Director-General of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency, Dr Gowin Iyala, described healthcare as a collective responsibility, stressing that the government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of providing quality healthcare for all citizens.
He commended Governor Bassey Otu and his wife for prioritising healthcare delivery and supporting the expansion of health insurance coverage in the state, noting that their commitment had strengthened the agency’s efforts towards achieving universal health coverage.
Iyala particularly appreciated the SSDC for supporting the enrolment of the 1,666 beneficiaries, describing the intervention as an important demonstration of how regional development institutions could complement state government efforts to deliver sustainable social protection.
He disclosed that the beneficiaries would have access to healthcare through a three-tier service delivery arrangement covering primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities, with referrals provided where necessary.
ALSO READ: Kano targets 3 million children for polio vaccination in 30 high-risk LGAs
Iyala also said the agency had established a monitoring mechanism to ensure that healthcare facilities provided services in line with approved standards. He added that the agency would continue to strengthen its capacity to deliver quality healthcare to enrollees.
The SSDC’s Executive Director of Finance, Soni Abang, commended the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency for developing a sustainable model, expressing confidence that the initiative could be replicated across the region and adopted by other development institutions.
He said the commission would work towards expanding access to healthcare across the region, stressing that a healthy population remained essential to economic productivity, development and national security.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chairman of the Cross River State Planning Commission, Dr Bong Duke, described the enrolment as a practical demonstration of inclusive governance, noting that it would give vulnerable families access to healthcare, dignity and peace of mind.
Duke said the enrolment aligned with the state’s social protection framework, particularly the Cross River State Health Insurance Scheme law, which provides for mandatory health insurance coverage for residents and earmarks one per cent of the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund for vulnerable populations.
He described the SSDC intervention as a direct contribution to expanding the state’s equity-based healthcare coverage.
He urged the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity and hold healthcare providers accountable, insisting that the success of the initiative would be measured by the actual services received rather than the number of insurance cards distributed.
The Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk, described the intervention as a welcome development and called on the SSDC to sustain and expand the programme.
He assured that the state government would monitor the utilisation of the funds and ensure that healthcare facilities were adequately equipped to provide effective services.
WATCH TOP VIDEOS FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE TV