In pursuance of its mandate to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage for the people, the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme urges the residents to be proactive in their healthcare needs, just as it enrolls members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and public servants across the state
By Edu Abade
The Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP), Dr. Vetty Agala has called upon all residents of Rivers State to take proactive steps in ensuring that they always remain healthy.
Executive Secretary of RIVCHPP, Dr. Vetty Agala, made the call in Port Harcourt on July 16, 2026, while reminding residents of the agency’s existence and its mandate to cater to the health needs of all Rivers people irrespective of their socio-economic status and state of origin.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) also reaffirmed the commitment of RIVCHPP towards achieving universal health coverage in Rivers State.
She pointed out that the health insurance agency was established to protect Rivers residents from the financial burden associated with healthcare services, urging employers, community leaders, and stakeholders to support enrolment drives and to advocate for health insurance coverage within their respective communities.
The social health insurance guru reiterated some of the efforts RIVCHPP has been embarking on to see that its enrollment gets to at least 1 million lives by the end of 2026, calling on everyone to come up and get enrolled.
Dr. Agala used the medium to highlight RIVCHPP’s role in reducing out of pocket healthcare expenses and improve access to health services, emphasizing that the scheme is designed to ensure all residents can access quality healthcare when needed.
She also discussed the various enrolment packages available under the scheme, including options for individuals, families, the informal sector and vulnerable groups, encouraging residents who are yet to enroll to take advantage of the programme’s affordable premium structure and comprehensive health benefits.
Dr. Agala also in the course of the media programme, outlined RIVCHPP’s strategic plans geared towards increasing enrolment across the state, saying that the agency is also leveraging technology and electronic management systems to enhance operational efficiency, improve data system and provision of seamless experience for enrollees and healthcare providers.
In a similar vein, Dr. Agala explained that based on Governor Siminalayi Fubara desire to ensure that everyone living and working in Rivers State could access affordable quality health, the agency took its campaign to the Rumuokoro Park to keep that promise to officially commence enrolment of road transport workers into the RIVCHPP.
In her words, “Road transport workers are the backbone of our economy. You move people, goods and the heartbeat of Rivers State daily. You wake up early, work long hours and face real risks on our roads. For too long, quality and affordable healthcare has been out of reach for most of you and your families. That is why the government, through RIVCHPP, chose to do something different.”
Maintaining that RIVCHPP was about welfare, access, dignity and protection, she explained that with the scheme, the road transport workers and their dependents could walk into accredited hospitals and access quality healthcare without the fear of huge out-of-pocket payments when the need arose.
“This unveiling at the Rumuokoro Park is the first step. It means the doors are now open. It means you can register, choose a healthcare provider close to you and begin to enjoy the benefits that this partnership was designed to deliver.
“Health is wealth and a healthy transport sector means a productive Rivers State. It is on this note, that we officially flag off the enrolment of members of NURTW. This enrolment will be cascaded to all parks in the 23 local government areas of Rivers State,” she stated.
Besides, in its bid to further expand universal health coverage in the state, RIVCHPP intensified efforts to enroll public workers on board its stable. On Monday, July 13, 2026, Dr. Agala led a team to the Rivers State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on an advocacy visit.
While stressing that RIVCHPP was established by law to provide Rivers’ residents with affordable and accessible quality healthcare services, without suffering from financial hardship, she disclosed that the agency has also already enrolled over 160,000 Rivers residents, who are presently accessing healthcare in accredited health facilities across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Dr. Agala further explained that although the enrolled number of persons have already exceeded the target number given to the state by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), seeing that the numbers remain a far cry when compared to the state population and in fulfillment of the Governor’s interest to see that all residents of the state always remain healthy, the agency would continue to push for more enrolments.
Responding, the state chairman of NLC, Comrade Alex Ikechi Agwanwor, commended the goodwill of Governor Fubara to the workforce, especially the operationalization of RIVCHPP and for the numerous welfare packages for workers.
Agwanwor promised that the union would not only share the information, but would endeavour to ensure that Rivers’ workers also get enrolled into RIVCHPP’s programmes to enjoy what others are enjoying in terms of affordable healthcare services.
In a related development, the RIVCHPP has made far-reaching decisions geared towards improving service delivery to Rivers’ residents, even as it deploys processes to make health facilities providing services for its enrollees to become more responsive and accountable.
It took the decision at its second quarter review meeting at the agency office in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Henceforth, RIVCHPP Finance Department would come up with a template for administering on facilities to track how funds from the agency to such facilities are being spent.
It stressed that its officials who now go on Quality Assessment visits to facilities must ensure that they, in addition to their findings on the operations of such facilities, should also ensure that they interface with enrollees and residents in the facilities to hear from consumers on the efficiency or otherwise the healthcare services they access from providers.
During the review meeting, RIVCHPP resolved that accredited facilities should reach out to prospective enrollees, make sure that such persons are enrolled and assigned to their facilities, insisting that it would no longer be business as usual where the agency sources for enrollees and assigns to facilities.
Also, in the course of the review meeting, it was resolved that before any data is released, the relevant departments and units must double check to see to the synchronization of such data.
A decision was also reached to penalize and possibly delist health facilities lagging behind in giving the promised quality healthcare services to its enrollees just as it was revealed that RIVCHPP has surpassed its target of 84,054 persons under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
Meanwhile, in its determination to maximize the resources at its disposal, the agency has embarked on the training and retraining its staff and team members on ways to eliminate fraud, wastes and abuse.
Declaring the training session open in Port Harcourt on Friday, July 10, 2026, Dr. Agala stated that the essence of the training is to infuse skills in the staff to curb abuse, fraud and wastes from every desk.
“There are ways that time, material, funds and other resources can be managed to curb any form of fraud, wastes and abuse. I, therefore, encourage participants to put in their best attention to learn and relearn,” she said.
She restated that the agency has pooled resources to organize the training to ultimately make staff and team members more efficient in managing resources to save so much with a view to giving more Rivers residents opportunity for affordable healthcare services.
On his part, the facilitator at the programme and a board member of RIVCHPP, Dr. Mangibo Daniel, who said organizations and institutions usually lost huge resources to fraud, wastes and abuse, described the training as timely and relevant.
Dr. Mangibo reiterated that the training was designed to impart team members with skills to detect fraud, wastes and abuse so as to know how to block any leakages that may arise, maintaining as a social health insurance agency, RIVCHPP was designed to serve the health needs of Rivers residents, so every kobo saved from fraud, wastes and abuse, would ultimately be ploughed back into giving more residents the opportunity to benefit from RIVCHPP’s packages.
