By Edu Abade
The Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) has restated its commitment to providing affordable healthcare to Rivers people, stressing that its health insurance scheme would eliminate all catastrophic health expenditure whenever and wherever healthcare services are needed.
Executive Secretary of RIVCHPP, Dr. Vetty Agala made the disclosure during a town hall sensitization programme, feedback and enrolment meeting for enrollees under the programme at Oghale Eleme in Eleme Local Government Area of the state.
The RIVCHPP Executive Secretary, who said that RIVCHPP has enrollees in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, however, decried the apathy of the people going to access healthcare services at the facilities, saying that the poor utilization data gave rise to the town hall meeting to get feedback.
Dr. Agala, who specifically mentioned that the utilization of care for Eleme Local Government Area was not really encouraging, appealed to the people of the area to come up for registration in order to enjoy robust healthcare services.
Administrator of Eleme Local Government Area, Dr. Gloria Obo Dibiah, who welcomed stakeholders to the town hall meeting, encouraged the people to wholeheartedly accept RIVCHPP’s programme because of the benefits that will help them live healthier lives and pledged to partner RIVCHPP to enroll over 2,000 Eleme citizens and residents into the health insurance scheme.
Speaking at the event, the state representative of Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Dr. Simene Sangha said that beyond the services by RIVCHPP, his body wants to work closely with enrollees of RIVCHPP to identify barriers to services, as to proffer solutions, not only them but also on how to improve on the utilization of the services.
Also, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Health to the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Professor Chituru G. Orlunwene, admonished people to take their health needs serious, saying that healthcare remains expensive, adding that if they embrace and register with the RIVCHPP, they could have access to quality healthcare services without paying from their pockets at the point of accessing the care.
Orlunwene used the occasion to announce that the Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.) constituted a board for the RIVCHPP and directed that all state government workers in Rivers State should enroll under the RIVCHPP’s health insurance scheme.
Expressing their gratitude to the state government for making RIVCHPP functional in the state, some beneficiaries of RIVCHPP applauded the government for saving them money and stress and at the same time making it possible for them and their children below five years to enjoy free, but quality healthcare services.
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