By Aminu Dahiru
At the Students Contributory Healthcare Programme launching Ceremony, which was witnessed by a number of stakeholders such as The Head Civil Service Alhaji Abdullahi Musa; the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Commared Kabiru Inuwa; The State Coordinator for NHIA; The Executive Secretary KHETFund Dr. Fatima Zahradeen, the State Coordinator KNCDC, Dr. Muhammad Abbas; The Provost College of Nursing & Midwives Kano; Development partners, Staff of the College and the entire management and senior staff of KSCHMA; the Honourable Commissioner for Health Dr. Abubakar Labaran in his Opening remark thanked the Executive Secretary, Management and entire staff of Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA) for another milestone achieved in the history of Alhajii Abba Kabir Yusuf’s Administration in health sector.
The Commissioner added that the programme is designed to ease the suffering of students in accessing healthcare so that they will concentrate on their studies; Dr. Labaran also said the premium N5,000 will be deducted from their school fees and will be remitted to the Agency, then the students will be enrolled into the scheme and they will start accessing care for good one year from the school facility and other accredited facilities. He further mentioned that he has appointed all the students as Ambassadors of the Programme so that it can reach everywhere.
Earlier the Executive Secretary Contributory Healthcare Management Agency Dr. Rahila Aliyu Mukhtar in her Keynote address express her appreciation to all the dignitaries present at the launching ceremony; she urged that the Students Contributory Healthcare Programme (SCHEP) is one of the packages initiated at the Agency in order to achieve the Universal Healthcare Coverage in alleviating the out of pocket expenditure and also provide quality healthcare to all the resident of Kano. She Congratulates that students of Health Tertiary Institution in the State for being among the first to be enrolled into the Programme and mentioned that their is going to be a Paper Presentation to be carried out by Director Programmes of the Agency on the whole Concept of the Programme; she urged that to listen attentively and ask questions so that they can benefit from it.
The State Head of Civil Service who Launch the enrolment of the students into the Programme urged the students to please not to abuse the programme and allow their friends to be using their Hand Card and accessing care instead they should be Good Ambassadors of the Programme so that more and more students be enrolled. Abdullahi Musa further congratulates the students for having such a programme in this political dispensation.