Oyo to launch 50bn health endowment fund
In taking the healthcare sector to the next level, Oyo State Government will next week launch N50bn Healthcare Endowment Fund. The fund will be utilized in the continued revamping of the healthcare sector in the state.
Oyo State Executive members, the Speaker, State House of Assembly, political appointees and senior government officials are among the over 3,000 people that have enrolled for the recently launched Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme (OYSHIA).
The State Commissioner for Health, Azeez Adeduntan,explained that all the various parts that make up the health sector in the state will be positively affected by this initiative. Adeduntan, in company of other state government officials and political appointees, which included his counterpart from the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism; Toye Arulogun, and the Consultant on the N50bn Endowment Fund, Bola Olaosebikan, a medical doctor noted that the fund will also be used for the upgrade of existing secondary health facilities in the 33 LGAs, including the brick and mortar structures and facilities of the 679 primary healthcare centres in the 351 wards of the state, and the 57 hospitals across the length and breadth of Oyo state. It will also be utilized in the provision of excellent welfare packages for the healthcare practitioners who will be at the forefront of delivering these standard services, many of whom the government is in the process of luring home from abroad.
According to him, “the state has already commenced the construction of five (5) secondary level facilities in five (5) LGAs previously without such facilities. Presently, construction of these facilities is at various levels of completion, but the fund will adequately allow for full completion. Also, it will ensure that there is availability of up-to-date and state of the art equipment for use in these hospitals.”
The Commissioner further explained that the endowment fund will be administered with utmost transparency and accountability, and will be collected and kept in a public purse separate from the Government account and managed by a Board of Trustees comprising notable Nigerians led by renowned Professor of Medicine, Oladipo Akinkugbe; he also stressed that the first phase of the endowment activities will span the next two (2) years with the possibility of extension.
Adeduntan, a Medical doctor, explained saying “since all other vital sectors of the economy in the state are also competing for attention at the same time with the health sector, the government had no other alternative than to call on individuals, corporate organizations and well-meaning indigenes of the state to donate generously towards the N50billion health endowment fund; we need the support of well-meaning Nigerians to take our health sector to the next level.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun noted that the Abiola Ajimobi administration, upon assumption of office, met healthcare services in a bad state, and immediately began a revamping of the entire sector; this has resulted in remarkable progress, some of which include the free medical services provided to over one million citizens.
He reiterated that the present administration has placed health care delivery on the front burner, noting that there is need for concerted efforts to ensure the sector is not moribund and static. In his own address, the Consultant of the project, Bola Olaosebikan, who noted that the endowment fund is the first of its kind in Nigeria, commended the state government for supporting the lofty idea and assured that many individuals and organizations from within and in the diaspora are ready to contribute to the fund.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Toye Arulogun in Ibadan, urged members of the public to take advantage of the ongoing registration for the scheme at the nearest government and accredited hospitals around them to benefit from the cheap, affordable, accessible and unique health insurance programme.
Arulogun said that the exco members were led in registering for the scheme by the state Deputy Governor, Moses Adeyemo, to demonstrate the commitment of the state government to quality health care and health insurance during the sensitization exercise on the scheme at the Executive Chamber of the governor’s office, adding that the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly (OYHA), Michael Adeyemo also registered when the team from the OYSHIA visited the House of Assembly complex. It would be recalled that the state Governor had registered during the event marking the formal launch of the scheme as part of the sixth anniversary of his administration.
Speaking during the sensitization programme, the Executive Secretary of OYSHIA, Sola Akande, maintained that the citizens of the state have embraced the scheme with a lot of enquiries and warm reception for the OYSHIA sensitization/engagement team, enjoining members of the public to register for the of first of its kind scheme by any state government, which covers almost all the ailments and is free of charge to pregnant women and children between the ages of 1-5 years.
He explained that the insurance scheme was carefully designed to benefit the rich and the less-privileged in the society, noting that the agency is committed to providing one doctor per Local Government, Nurses and Pharmacists, apart from the medical personnel of the accredited hospitals, as well as the provision of adequate drugs that can last for two years.
“This scheme is a provision of affordable healthcare for every resident of Oyo State. We are working to orientate and change the belief of our people towards the use of hospitals, the health insurance scheme and what they expend on their health. Health is wealth, and we want everyone to take their health seriously. We are calling on all residents of the state to go out to the nearest accredited hospitals or the State Ministry of Health for the registration,” Akande said.
In their separate addresses, the Caretaker Chairmen of Ibadan North Local Government Council, Lagelu Central Local Government and Lagelu North Local Council Development Area, Basiru Adegoke, Oyelola Mohammed and Taofeek Arowomole respectively commended Governor Ajimobi for bringing accessible as well as affordable quality health care to the door steps of the people, promising that they will take the crusade of the health insurance to the nooks and crannies of their communities.
Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan