Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday launched Health Insurance Scheme for area council employees as part of efforts to deliver key health interventions in the territory.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, said in Kuje, FCT, that the initiative would increase access to quality health services toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the territory.
Aliyu said since her deployment to the FCT, she had been engaging stakeholders in health and social services sub-sectors and had developed a blueprint “to positively touch the lives of Abuja residents.
“And to achieve the aim, we developed a five-year (2019-2023) Strategic Plan.’’
She assured that efforts were ongoing to ensure that pregnant women and children under five years were covered by the FCT Health Insurance Scheme.
She explained that the measure was to expand access to quality and timely health services to vulnerable groups.
The minister noted that the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) had also been set aside specially to deliver a package of key maternal, newborn and child survival interventions proven to reduce maternal, neonatal and child mortalities in the territory.
She disclosed that FCT had shown over 400 per cent performance improvement in eight years, noting that a coverage of 98 per cent was achieved against 24 per cent in 2011.
She revealed that the recent report of 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey by National Population Commission (NPC) shows 49 per cent coverage in children’s immunisation, which is above the national average of 31 per cent.
According to her, considerable achievements have been made through MNCHW to improve maternal, newborn and child health indices.
She said “emphasis has shifted from stand-alone vertical routine and supplemental health services provision to a more integrated approach like the MNCMNCH Week, which exposes caregivers and children to key interventions that improve health status.
The Chairman, Kuje Area Council, Abdullahi Sabo, who commended the FCTA for launching the scheme, described it as “a good development for staff and their families.’’
Sabo also said that maternal new born and healthcare was a biannual event aimed at reducing maternal death, child mortality and morbidity.
He added that the intervention was to provide maternal healthcare and nutrition, key to child survival and maternal well-being.
He, therefore, called on beneficiaries with children from age 0-59 months and women of child bearing age to avail themselves of the opportunity by coming out en masse to be part of the programme.
The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abdullahi Candido, who spoke on behalf of other area council chairmen, pledged the commitment of the councils’ administrations to support the programme.
