RIVCHPP Sustains Awareness Campaign On Healthcare Services, Awards Deputy Governor State’s UHC Advocate
By Edu Abade
The healthcare services provided by Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) have continued to yield positive results that have saved lives of Rivers residents.
Acting Executive Secretary of RIVCHPP, Dr. Vetty Agala, who made the assertion during a visit to the Deputy Governor of the state, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu at the Government House, Port Harcourt, said the agency has already enrolled 58,000 beneficiaries into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund of its programme.
She said the health cases for which the agency has been harvesting positive testimonies included cesarean sections and surgeries of various forms, among others, commended Governor Siminialayi Fubara for creating an enabling environment and support base for the agency to function maximally in the state.
She used the medium to further solicit the government’s support and enforcement of legislation to bring on board the formal and informal sectors to engender wider universal health coverage across the state.
Agala, who announced the presentation of an award in honour of the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu as the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Advocate of the state, stressed that due to her antecedents in health advocacy over the years, the Deputy Governor and commended Prof. Odu for her approval for the state to join in the commemoration of Universal Health Coverage Day for the first time.
The RIVCHPP Executive Secretary then announced that the maiden Universal Health Coverage Day will hold on December 12, 2024 at Orogbum Health Centre after a health walk in Port Harcourt and across Rivers State.
Responding, Prof. Odu, who said Governor Siminialayi Fubara, is only interested and moved by projects and programmes that will impact humanity, urged all citizens of the state to support him achieve his set goals.
Odu, who commended the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Chidinma Oreh for her strength and strategic leadership vision that has helped to put the state on global health map, commended Agala and her team for the good work they are doing to ensure that the people of Rivers State benefit from the agency’s health programmes.
The Deputy Governor also applauded the agency for the appointment as UHC Advocate, saying that henceforth, it would encourage her to be more intentional and focused in her advocacy, which she said she loves doing, promising to ensure that more persons enroll to join the advocacy campaigns.
The delegation for the courtesy visit was led by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Comfort Mekele Igwe and other senior officials of the ministry.
