Business
Niger Govt Clears N250m Counterpart Fund
The Niger State
Government last Sunday said it had paid the counterpart fund of N250 million for the 2013 National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Ibrahim Sule, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
He said the fund also covered pregnant women and children under five years of age using public health facilities.
The commissioner said eight local government councils were enrolled in the first phase of the scheme before being extended to other parts of the state.
Sule listed the eight council areas to include Chanchaga, Lapai, Munya, Rafi, Katcha, Agwara, Mashega and Mariga.
He said an average of 33, 000 persons in each local government council were currently benefiting from the scheme.
The commissioner also said more than 280, 000 persons were participating in the scheme aimed at complementing the state’s free medical services for vulnerable groups in its public health institutions.
He said there had been an increase in the number of those attending antenatal clinics, attributing this to the free medical services for pregnant women.
“The attendance in Chanchaga and other parts of the state had shot up by 400 per cent as a result of the free delivery service,’’ he said.
Sule further said the state government had distributed 1.7 million mosquito nets to all households in the state in a bid to reduce the scourge of malaria.
He added that government was planning to spray malaria endemic areas as part of its preventive strategies.