Ekiti State Government is set to commence implementation of the National health Insurance Scheme-Millennium Development Goals-Maternal and Child Health (NHIS ? MDG ? MCH) project in the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Professor Olusola Fasubaa, who made this known at a press conference in Ado Ekiti, said Governor Fayemi will flag off the scheme as part of activities marking the third year anniversary of his administration.
Fasubaa noted that the scheme, which was established in 1999 with the objective of securing universal coverage as well as provide adequate and affordable Health-Care services to improve the health status of the people, would complement the free health programme of the Fayemi-led administration.
The Commissioner stressed that the present administration in the state had invested substantially in the health sector saying that it is no more news that the state government provides free health services to people in the state particularly the vulnerable groups including children under five, pregnant women, physically challenged and elderly people over 65.
According to him, government is working assiduously towards surpassing the 2015 benchmark for Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of less than 75/100000 live births and deaths of children under 5 of 63.7/1000, adding that available data indicated that the administration has succeeded in reducing MMR and under 5deaths to 158/100000live births and 98/1000.
Fasubaa said that government decided to embrace the National Health Insurance Scheme and implement the NHIS-MDG-MCH programme with the aim of further reducing the still unacceptably high maternal and under-5 child mortality and morbidity indices as well as change the concept of women delivering in inappropriate places like churches and traditional birth attendants.
Highlighting arrangements of the state in implementing the scheme, the Commissioner said that the programme would be driven through Public, Private Partnership with the state employing the services of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in each of the three senatorial districts in the state.
