Sokoto contributory Health scheme will be launched in July 2018, Special Adviser to the Governor Tambuwal, on the schemr, Dr. Muhammad Inname disclosed.
"We have already embarked on massive enlightenment campaigns in the state. We will soon meet with the State Ministry of Health to start deduction and after that we will commence enrollment and registration. So, the programme will be launched in July 2018 by Governor Aminu Tambuwal," he explained.
According to him state and local governments would contribute for destitute as the Sokoto State government makes participation into the contributory Health care Scheme mandatory for residents.
The bill establishing the scheme which had been passed into law by the state House of Assembly was now awaiting the assent of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to become operational.
According to the Special Adviser to the Governor Tambuwal, Dr. Muhammad Inname the scheme would likely take off July, this year.
Inname who is the overseer of the scheme made the disclosure at a media and communication healthcare financing training held in Sokoto yesterday.
He said that 21 General Hospitals and 65 primary health centres across the 23 local government areas had been accredited for the commencement of the scheme.
He noted that more staff were recruited and some were undergoing training especially experience sharing with the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) as well as the deployment of information and communication technology infrastructure for enrollment and efficient management of the scheme.
He explained that participants were categorised into formal and informal and it is mandatory for residents, especially civil servants.
"Each employee will contribute 5% while his employer will contribute 10%. The state and local governments will dedicate some percentage of their statutory allocation for the destitute in addition to Zakkat," he explained.
He said the workshop was aimed at deepening the understanding of journalists on the basics of health financing and to improve their knowledge in order to effectively communicate the benefits of the health contributory scheme to the public.
According to him, the scheme will not cover all diseases but only certain ailments that are prevalent in Sokoto state.
"Diseases that are terminal in nature like cancer are not fully covered in this scheme. The patients will have to make part of the payment of the medical bills. Thus, initially, we will not cover all diseases.