Plateau Deepens Healcare Services With Inauguration Of Task Team Committee

The Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA) has launched and inaugurated a State-Level Task Team Committee to drive the implementation of its Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) Scheme under the Expanded Mutfwang Care programme, in a bid aimed at extending quality and accessible healthcare services to underserved rural and informal-sector populations across Plateau state.

The Task Team committee was inaugurated during a one-day Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) Workshop held yesterday at the Conference Hall of the Headquarters of PLASCHEMA in TATI hotel, Gada-Biu, Jos.

Inaugurating the committee, the Director-General of PLASCHEMA, Dr. Kwande Solomon Dawal, described the initiative as another major milestone in the state’s journey towards expanding health insurance coverage and improving health outcomes for the poor and vulnerable residents across local communities in Plateau state. 

He explained that the workshop marked the transition from policy development to implementation, recalling that stakeholders had previously worked together to develop and validate the framework for the Plateau State Context-Specific Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme.

According to Dawal, the newly inaugurated committee comprises of carefully selected representatives from key government agencies, development partners, professional bodies and civil society organisations whose collective expertise will provide the strategic leadership required for the successful implementation of the Community Based Health Insurance, CBHI, model. 

“The committee has the responsibility of providing strategic oversight, ensuring compliance with implementation guidelines, monitoring programme performance, promoting accountability and strengthening evidence-based decision-making to guarantee sustainable healthcare delivery,” he said.

He noted that the committee would serve an initial one-year term, subject to review, with the expectation of establishing a robust implementation framework capable of sustaining community-based health insurance across Plateau State.

The multi-sectoral committee comprises representatives of the Plateau State Primary Health Care Board, Plateau State Hospitals Management Board, Plateau State Drugs and Medical Commodities Management Agency, Plateau State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (PLASEMSAS), Civil Society Organisations, Plateau Indigenous Development Association Network (PIDAN), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the World Health Organization (WHO), Plateau State Ministry of Health, Plateau State Bureau of Statistics, the State Health Educator, as well as Religious Leaders and Traditional Institution. 

In a goodwill message, the Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Ba’amlong, described the inauguration of the PLASCHEMA Community Based Health Insurance, CBHI, task team as a milestone achievement in the state health sector, noting that it aligns with the state’s broader healthcare reform agenda, under Governor Mutfwang’s The Time Is Now commitment to providing quality and accessible healthcare services to all the local communities in Plateau state.

Ba’amlong disclosed that health insurance enrollment in Plateau State has grown rapidly from fewer than 100,000 beneficiaries from 2023 at the inception of the current administration to nearly 350,000, expressing optimism that the figure would reach 500,000 by next year and eventually approach one million through the Community-Based Health Insurance initiative. He commended the vision and foresight of the PLASCHEMA’s Director-General for coming up with the idea of the Community Based Health Insurance, CBHI, model in enhancing the course of Universal Health Coverage on the Plateau.

Goodwill messages and intellectual insight contributions were made from the representatives of Plateau State Hospital Management Board, Plateau State Drugs and Medical Commodities Management Agency, National Health Insurance Authority, World Health Organisation, Shiwer Mutual Health Association, PLASEMSAS, Plateau State Ministry of Health, Plateau State Primary Health Care Board, National Primary Health Care Board, Civil Society Organisation, PIDAN as well as Religious and Traditional Institution.