Sokoto Health Insurance Agency to enrol 39,000 civil servants, scales up BHCPF to 244 Wards
Sokoto Health Insurance Agency to enrol 39,000 civil servants, scales up BHCPF to 244 Wards 
From Bashir Rabe Mani, Sokoto
The Sokoto State Contributory Health Management Agency says it is set to roll out health insurance coverage for 38,500 to 39,000 civil servants in the state as part of efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
The Director-General of the Agency, Alhaji Yusuf Abubakar, disclosed this during a media briefing in Sokoto.
He said the agency was established in 2018 and commenced full operations in 2021 with the mandate to ensure all residents of Sokoto have access to needed healthcare services.
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“We are established with the sole mandate to ensure that all people residing in Sokoto are given the needed health care services and to ensure that everybody has been taken care of effectively,” Abubakar said.
The D-G explained that the agency runs both formal and informal sector programs.
He explained,”Under the informal sector, it is implementing the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), a federal and state government funded initiative.
He said BHCPF is currently operating in 132 wards across the 23 local government areas of the state, but plans are underway to scale up to 244 wards by next month, one ward in each local government.
“The target has been set by the federal government to scale up the number of coverage, and directors and enumerators are in the field currently working to ensure that we have scaled up,” he stated.
He listed the categories covered under BHCPF as pregnant women, children under five, people with special needs, the poorest of the poor, and the elderly.
On the formal sector, Alhaji Yusuf said the agency has reached 90 to 95 per cent level of preparation to commence enrollment of civil servants.
He disclosed that MOUs have been signed with NLC and TUC, and meetings held with about 50 affiliated unions who have all agreed to key into the programme, adding that the agency is now awaiting a formal commencement date.
Under the law, he explained, a civil servant, spouse and four biological children under 18 are covered as a family of six.
Abubakar added,”Additional dependents will attract an extra premium of N12,000 to N20,000 per year.
“The state government is pushing for 3 to 4 per cent of the basic salary of the civil servant.
” We are expecting nothing less than N180 million to N200 million monthly to ensure that the civil servants have been taken care of effectively with good quality of care,” the D-G added.
Alhaji Yusuf Abubakar further commended the Sokoto State Governor, Dr Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto for his sustained invaluable support and unwavering commitment towards ensuring the success of all the activities of the agency.
He noted that the contributory model was adopted in line with Islamic injunctions in Northern states, hence the name “Sokoto State Contributory Health Management Agency.”
