IKEJA, Nigeria, Sept. 20 -- The Lagos State Government issued the following news:

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris has stated that the adoption of the Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) will lead to the improvement of facilities at the Primary Health Care Centers in the State.

The Commissioner, who disclosed this at a meeting with health delegates from Akwa-Ibom and Gombe States on a study tour to assess the success of the State government's Community Based Health Insurance Scheme in Alausa, also reiterated the State government's commitment to the provision of qualitative health care delivery for the people within available resources.

He pointed out that government alone cannot fund healthcare hence the need for citizens and the well-endowed to augment government's effort by buying into the health insurance scheme.

According to him, "government can only spend the resources available to it to address competing challenges, and the provision of qualitative healthcare services is just one of the major challenges confronting government, which is why health insurance is very important in solving the problem of healthcare financing".

"When we were preparing for the scheme, we got people to study and cost the types of health services we would provide and the amount the community would be willing to pay. We agreed we will start with N1, 200 for a family, N300 for any addition in a family and N600 for an individual as the Scheme was new and we wanted people to embrace it. I must tell you that with the N1200 being paid by a family of six, government is paying an extra for each person to support and sustain the scheme", the Commissioner explained.

He expressed happiness that the Ikosi-Isheri and Ibeju-Lekki Mutual Health Insurance plan continues to offer pre-paid primary health care services on a 24 hours basis to enrolled members of their communities, adding that the two community based health insurance schemes are being used to know what is done wrong and what is done right in ensuring that people own up to healthcare financing through insurance.

The feedback we are getting from the scheme shows that though there are challenges, but people of the community have also shown positive response to the idea of the scheme and this has made government to give us the go-ahead to scale up," he said.

The Commissioner noted that government is in dialogue with other interested local governments and private groups who have shown interest in the scheme adding that the scheme has already been introduced in Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Shomolu.

He urged the people to see the Scheme as their own, as government's role is to provide financial and technical support and guidance on the scheme's operations.

TNS C-sm92 120922-mt93-4040462 61MarlizTagarum