CSJ Sensitises Local Bauchi CSOs on Health Insurance

In Bauchi State’s capital, a town hall meeting was held to raise awareness about the importance of implementing health insurance or contributory schemes at the national and state levels.

The meeting was organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in collaboration with a Bauchi-based Civil Society Organisation (CSO), and journalists for Public Health and Development Initiative (J4PD) with support from USAID and Palladium.

It targeted local CSO, non-governmental organisations, trade unions and traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, community-based organisations, artisan associations, and persons with disabilities among others.

The Programme Manager of CSJ, Mr. Martins Eke, said that the health contributory scheme has been proven to serve as a pool where huge amounts of money can be channeled for effective healthcare service delivery without waiting for the government’s budgetary allocation.

Eke stated that the meeting aimed to enlighten the public on the need to key into health insurance schemes and do away with out-of-pocket spending on health matters.

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He said that he was optimistic that if a certain percentage of people in the state would embrace the health scheme, it would pave the way for the actualisation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Eke, who acknowledged that Bauchi State Government has an established health contributory scheme, lamented the low enrollment in all components of formal, informal, and the vulnerable programme, calling for more awareness creation towards changing the
narrative.

The Coordinator of J4PD, Ms. Elizabeth Kar, said that as health promoters, members of the organization should take it upon themselves to join the enlightenment train for the benefit of people in the state.

While appreciating the participants for honouring the invitation, Kar expressed satisfaction over the turnout and hoped the meeting would change the narrative.

A representative of the traditional institution and Dan Iyan Bauchi, Mr. Sulaiman Ahmad Bashir, pledged the institution’s readiness to sensitise more people at the grassroots on the health benefits of the scheme to individuals and families.

He lauded the Bauchi State Health Contributory Management Agency (BASHCMA) for its programme which is being funded by the Federal Government’s Basic Health Care Provision Fund.