Sokoto Health Agency Set to Enrol 39,000 Civil Servants in Insurance Scheme
By Nafiu Muhammad Lema
The Sokoto State Contributory Health Management Agency (SOCHEMA) says it is ready to commence the enrolment of between 38,500 and 39,000 civil servants into the state’s health insurance scheme as part of efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
The Director General of the agency, Yusuf Abu Abdulkarim, disclosed this on Wednesday in Sokoto during a media briefing on the activities and programmes of the agency.
Abubakar said the agency was established in 2018 and commenced full operations in 2021 with the primary responsibility of ensuring that residents of the state have access to quality and affordable healthcare services.
According to him, the agency operates programmes covering both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
He explained that under the informal sector, the agency implements the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), a healthcare initiative jointly funded by the Federal and state governments.
He said the BHCPF is currently being implemented in 132 wards across the 23 local government areas of the state, with plans to expand the coverage to 244 wards.
“The target has been set by the federal government to scale up the number of coverage, and directors and enumerators are currently in the field working to ensure that we achieve the expansion” he said.
Abubakar identified pregnant women, children under five, persons with special needs, the poorest of the poor and elderly people as the major categories benefiting from the BHCPF.
On the formal sector programme, the Director-General said preparations for the enrolment of civil servants had reached between 90 and 95 per cent.
He disclosed that the agency had signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), while consultations had also been held with about 50 affiliated unions, all of which, he said, had agreed to participate in the scheme.
He added that the agency was only waiting for the formal commencement date to begin the enrolment process.
The Director General explained that under the scheme, each civil servant would be covered alongside a spouse and four biological children below the age of 18, making a family package of six persons.
He said additional dependants would attract an annual premium ranging from N12,000 to N20,000.
According to him, the state government is proposing a contribution of between three and four per cent of the basic salary of each civil servant.
“We are expecting nothing less than N180 million to N200 million monthly to ensure that the civil servants are effectively taken care of with good quality healthcare” he said.
Abubakar commended the Sokoto State Governor, Dr Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, for his continued support and commitment to the success of the agency’s programmes.
He explained that the contributory health insurance model was adopted in accordance with Islamic principles applicable in many northern states, leading to the establishment of the Sokoto State Contributory Health Management Agency.
