By Edu Abade
The Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP), through the State Ministry of Health, has felicitated with Governor Siminialayi Fubara on his 50th birthday anniversary, while commending the governor’s visionary leadership even as the ministry prayed for grace for him to continue to successfully pilot the affairs of the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, who sent the congratulatory message to Governor Fubara during a media briefing at her office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, highlighted the programmes and activities that the ministry, through the RIVCHPP, had dedicated to embark upon in honour of the governor on his 50th birthday.
According to her, the ministry, through RIVCHPP, will fully enroll vulnerable groups comprising children in state-run homes, residents of correctional centres and pensioners in RIVCHPP’s equity plan.
She also announced the enrolment of 50 000 vulnerable persons across the 23 councils of the state, in collaboration with their leadership into RIVCHPP’s equity plan and carrying out 50 free surgeries for one week to commemorate the governor’s golden Jubilee birthday, for persons already enrolled into the agency’s Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and equity schemes.
She said that the ministry was taking bold steps to further reinforce the state government’s Health4allRivers agenda, as well as to ensure comprehensive and free health coverage for those who need it most by removing financial barriers to essential medical services.
Oreh, who however, cautioned that the ministry would not condone any form of exploitation or compromise in service delivery, enjoined residents of the state to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the golden Jubilee Birthday celebrations of Governor Fubara, while urging families to enroll their vulnerable loved ones into the various schemes of RIVCHPP.
Echoing the Commissioner’s submissions, Acting Executive Secretary of RIVCHPP, Dr. Vetty Agala, said the packages reeled out in honour of the governor are meant to restate what Governor Fubara has been doing for Rivers people in the health sector, maintaining that the services provided for beneficiaries entail even secondary healthcare services with referrals.
Agala, however, explained that although the agency pays for surgeries for all categories of enrollees, those under the informal sector of its schemes and have been enjoying the Simjara and equity packages have to pay 15 percent on drugs and that drugs for beneficiaries are those on essential drug list.
