Non-payment of counterpart funds by Oyo restricts services to 6 LGs, says NHIS

Olufemi Thomas, the executive secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), says failure of Oyo State government to pay its counterpart fund to complement the effort of the Federal Government as agreed when the scheme began in 2008 was responsible for not extending the scheme beyond six council areas.

The state, Thomas said, had only made N20m deposit while Ondo State, which now enjoys state-wide coverage, had paid N370million.

Speaking at the commencement of user satisfaction survey programme for the South-West area, held at Agbongbon Primary Health Care Centre, Ibadan on Monday, the executive secretary who disclosed that NHIS service has covered only 5,500 beneficiaries since inception in the state, noted that the Federal Government had spent over N1bn so far on the scheme.

According to him, the number of beneficiaries in Oyo State is low because the state is not paying its counterpart fund. Speaking further, Thomas revealed that the project has cost the Federal Government over N1bn and that it is also expected that the state should pay its own share since the agreement is that both the Federal Government and state governments will contribute equal amounts to fund the scheme.

While saying that NHIS will continue to talk to the state government so that it can extend the operation to other council areas of the state, the executive secretary stressed that it was important “to thank the FG for the opportunity which has reduced mortality rate in pregnant women and children in the country.”

He also added that the Federal Government had made provisions for the extension of the NHIS services beyond its present scope.

“Presently, we are running many programmes. We are developing the community based health insurance programme in at least three council areas in each state. We even have some states where four or five council areas are covered. NHIS service is already been extended beyond five year-olds because the school programme will start soon,” he said.

In his address, Taye Adeleye, zonal coordinator of the scheme in the South-West, said that the essence of user satisfaction survey was to know the feeling of the enrolees and how the service could be improved upon.

REMI FEYISIPO