The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP), Dr. Vetty Agala, has called on residents of the state to help disseminate information about the health insurance scheme to their neighbours and communities.
She made the appeal through the Head of Planning at RIVCHPP, Dr. Juliet Aleme, during a sensitisation and enrolment engagement at the palace of the Eze-elect of Oyigbo, Eze Samuel N. Azuh, in Oyigbo Town on Wednesday.
Dr. Agala noted that increased awareness of the scheme would encourage more residents to enrol and benefit from the programme, which is a key initiative of the Rivers State Government under Siminalayi Fubara, the State Governor.
She emphasised that RIVCHPP is designed for all residents across the 23 local government areas of the state, providing access to quality healthcare services without financial hardship at the point of care.
She further urged the people of Oyigbo and the wider Rivers State community to take advantage of the programme, noting that both the federal and state governments have already covered health insurance costs for vulnerable groups.
In his response, the Eze-elect of Oyigbo, Eze Samuel N. Azuh, expressed appreciation to RIVCHPP and Pamo University for bringing the sensitisation and health outreach to the community.
He commended the government for the initiative and assured that his people would embrace the scheme.
He also appealed for an expansion of the vulnerability criteria to accommodate more citizens and called for the inclusion of eye-related ailments and surgeries in the scheme’s coverage.
Earlier in her remarks, the Head of Community Medicine at Pamo University, Iriebe, Dr. Chidinma Opara, revealed that research conducted by 600-level medical students showed low awareness of RIVCHPP and poor utilisation of primary healthcare centres in Oyigbo Local Government Area.
She explained that, in response to these findings and recognising the benefits of the programme, especially for vulnerable populations, the institution partnered with RIVCHPP to boost awareness and improve access to healthcare services in the area.
As part of the collaboration, a facility tour of the Pamo University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, was conducted to assess its capacity.
Discussions are also underway between RIVCHPP and the hospital’s management regarding its onboarding as a service provider for RIVCHPP enrollees.
- Oruigoni is the Information/Public Relations Officer, RIVCHPP.