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.