Ebonyi State Health insurance Agency (EBSHIA) has Organized a two- day intensive training for the newly reconstituted chairman and Board members of the Agency, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday at the Re-meritona Hotel and Suits, Abakaliki, Ebonyi state capital.
The training was aimed at enhancing their understanding of the modus operandi of health insurance in Nigeria as well as build their capacities towards positioning the Agency for greater services.
Declaring the training open on Wednesday, March 12, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Ekuma, expressed delight with the calibre of persons in the Board.
He emphasized that every single person including Ambulance drivers, revenue collectors and others in the chain of health delivery are as important as the medical doctors and other health professionals, adding that the failure of any in his/her capacity can jeopardize patients management and care.
Ekuma therefore, enjoined the Board members to maximize the opportunity of the training to get fully equipped to justify the confidence the Governor reposed in them by the appointment.
He said: "For those of you who are not health professionals, know it very well that your diligent contributions are germane in both review and improvement in the services of the agency."
The Commissioner assured of continued support to the Agency to ensure that all Ebonyi residents are enrolled into the health insurance scheme.
In his remark, the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Divine Igwe, noted
that the essence of the training was to equip the Board with adequate knowledge on the operation of Health Insurance in Nigeria and provide them adequate information backed by law, which would enable them optimally perform their oversight functions for the good of the Agency.
Igwe noted further that the scheme established in 2018 and launched in 2021 has gone through a lot of challenges to attain its present status, and commended his management team for their diligence, stating that the agency has through its various packages for both formal and the informal sectors enrolled over Eighty-six thousand Ebonyi residents into the scheme, and still counting.
The Executive Secretary enumerated some of the services rendered through the scheme to include free surgeries, eye care and glass services, free maternal and child care as well as treatment of other ailments.
While commending Governor Nwifuru for reconstituting the Board, he appreciated the wife of the Governor for her rewarding collaboration with the agency through her Pet project, Better Health for Rural Women and Internally Displaced Foundation, BERWO, which has birthed unprecedented breakthroughs in healthcare services to the people.
He informed that the Agency in continuation of its collaboration with BERWO, was set to conduct free eye examination, treatment, surgery and distribution of reading glasses to traditional rulers and others, across the state, scheduled for April 9, 2025.
Participants
In her opening speech, the Board Chairman, of the Board, Mrs Elizabeth Ogbaga, said the training would give them the opportunity to get into meaningful discussions, share full knowledge of EBSHIA and align their strategies towards achieving the cherished goals of the Agency.
She encouraged all participants to be actively involved, share insights and work together to drive the growth of the agency.
Others who spoke at the event included the State Coordinator, National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Ken Ogbu; the former EBSHIA Board chairman, Chief Goddy Ogbaga and one of the trainers and State Coordinator of the USAID- Health Workforce Management, Dr Ibiam Azu Agwu.
Ogbu in his statement commended Ebonyi for being among the first states to meet the criteria for establishing a state health insurance agency.
He further commended the Governor for reconstituting the Board which he said was one of the basic criteria for the operation of State Health Insurance Agencies.
He explained that the recent reforms in the National Health Insurance Agency brought about the decentralization of health insurance schemes thereby enabling the States to establish their Health Insurance Agencies while the former national agency was redesignated as the National Health Insurance Authority extending supervisory roles to the States.
Ogbu noted that the NHIA was not in any competition with the SHIA but pleased with their growth, stressing that both would continue to compliment each other to ensure that every citizen of Nigeria at every corner enjoys universal health coverage.
While Chief Ogbaga harped on the need for synergy and teamwork among the board chairman and members, Dr. Ibiam Azu Agwu, admonished trainees not to leave anything to assumptions but ensure that they get clarification for every question agitating their minds so as to be better equipped for the job they have been called to do as EBSHIA Board members.
Recal that Governor Francis Nwifiru, on Tuesday, 11th February, 2025, Inaugurated the reconstituted 11-member Board, which has a former member of House of Representatives, Elizabeth Ogbaga as Chairman.
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