NAN
The Katsina State Government has called for collaboration among stakeholders in the health sector to deliver effective and efficient services to the people.
Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Health, Dr. Kabir Mustapha, made the call, in Daura, on Thursday, at the closing of a two-day zonal sensitisation workshop for stakeholders on Community Based Social Health Insurance Programme (CBHIP).
Mustapha said cooperation and understanding was needed for the success of numerous health programmes initiated up for the benefit of Nigerians, stressing health is wealth.
He commended the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Maternal and Child Health (MNCH2) for wider coverage of the state in their activities.
He described the workshop as timely and very much desirous especially considering the commitments and determination of the state government on promotion of health.
The scribe pledged the readiness of the state government to continue to partner with the relevant agencies to make the health sector very competitive nationwide.
Mustapha assured that the proposed Contributory Health Scheme Bill initiated by the executive would soon be passed into law by the state House of Assembly as due process were almost completed.
Responding, Mr Ashiru Karate, the NHIS Coordinator in the state, described the workshop as eventful considering the interest generated during the question and answer sessions.
He noted that the participants have demonstrated a sense of maturity, understanding and enthusiasm during the training.
The participants included traditional rulers, religious and community leaders.
Karate added that after successful registration and enrolment of the participating associations a cash subsidy would be provided to the associations through their bank accounts to qualify them for enrolment.
He disclosed that the NHIS has so far registered 10 associations in the state which is the highest nationwide, stressing “we are determined to enroll as many as possible associations’’.
Malam Sule Ibrahim, representative of the District Head of Daura, Alhaji Auwalu Farouk-Umar, lauded the efforts of the state government for organising the workshop.
According to him, the lesson learnt by the participants was enormous and beneficial as it would further reposition the health sector if fully implemented.
He described CBHIP as a welcome development, stressing we will strive to enroll many associations with the projected minimum number of 1,000 people per group.
He said the participants would take the message to the public forum through the district, village and ward heads as well as Imams of all mosques across the zone for wider coverage.
“We would also organise local sensitisation talks for effective and efficient understanding of the lofty objectives of the scheme,’’ the traditional ruler said.
He noted that the success recorded in the zone on routine immunisation was sequel to the commitment of the stakeholders and state government especially the traditional and religious leaders, saying “we were rated polio free by the relevant health indicators’’.
NAN reports that the workshop was organised by the state government in collaboration with NHIS and MNCH2 across the three zones of Daura, Katsina and Funtua.
Not less than 300 participants were exposed on the benefits associated with the CBHIP.