The Cross River State Government has expressed appreciation to the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) for enrolling 1,666 vulnerable persons into the state’s health insurance scheme, describing the intervention as a significant boost to efforts to expand access to affordable healthcare, particularly for underserved communities.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, who spoke on Wednesday during the flag-off ceremony at the premises of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency in Calabar, assured that the state government would ensure effective monitoring and accountability to guarantee that beneficiaries derive the intended benefits from the programme. He also pledged that resources committed to the scheme would be judiciously utilised.
“We see this not as a donation, but as resources to be realised, sustained, monitored and validated,” Ayuk stated, emphasising the need to ensure that the intervention translates into improved healthcare access for the beneficiaries.
The Head of Service of Cross River State also commended the SSDC for extending its social intervention to vulnerable residents, particularly those in hard-to-reach and riverine communities, noting the importance of strategic partnerships in addressing the healthcare needs of disadvantaged populations.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SSDC, Ms. Usoro Offiong Akpabio, represented by the Executive Director, Human Capital Development and Social Services, Engr. Preye Aganaba, said the programme was designed to remove financial barriers preventing vulnerable persons from accessing essential healthcare services.
She explained that the intervention aligned with the mandate given to the Commission by President Bola Tinubu to advance human capital development across the South-South region.
“We thank President Tinubu for entrusting us with a mandate to advance human capital development. Today, we are putting that mandate into practice by helping people who face financial barriers get the healthcare they need,” she said.
Akpabio noted that the cost of healthcare and geographical barriers often compel families in riverine communities to delay seeking medical attention, stressing that access to quality healthcare remained fundamental to human and economic development. She commended Governor Bassey Otu for strengthening primary healthcare and expanding health insurance coverage in the state, while also acknowledging the Director-General of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Godwin Iyala, for facilitating the partnership.
She charged the implementation teams to ensure transparency, proper verification and equitable distribution of the 1,666 enrolment slots, warning against duplicate registrations and diversion of benefits from genuinely eligible persons.
Also speaking, the SSDC Executive Director, Finance, Amb. Soni Abang, disclosed that the Commission’s intervention in the health sector would extend beyond health insurance to include the provision of drugs and medical equipment, as well as the renovation and construction of healthcare facilities.
He explained that the Commission recognised the connection between a healthy population, productivity, economic growth and security, adding that its interventions would also cover agriculture, professional training and scholarship opportunities.
The Vice Chairman of the Cross River State Planning Commission, Dr. Bong Duke, described the enrolment as an important milestone that aligns with the state’s people-first development agenda, noting that the 1,666 beneficiaries represented individuals who had previously faced economic, physical and social barriers to healthcare.
Duke urged the beneficiaries and community leaders to ensure that the insurance cards translated into actual utilisation of healthcare services, rather than merely serving as proof of enrolment. “The cards must translate into hospital visits and healthier families. Beneficiaries must use the scheme, ask questions and hold the system accountable,” he advised.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Godwin Iyala, described the partnership as a demonstration of collective responsibility towards protecting vulnerable members of society, noting that the scheme was built on the principle of supporting those who could not independently afford healthcare.
Iyala disclosed that beneficiaries would enjoy access to healthcare services at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. He commended the SSDC for the intervention and acknowledged Dr. Ekpo Bassey, sponsor of the law establishing the agency, for his contribution to the development of health insurance in the state.
The beneficiaries, comprising women, children and elderly persons, were selected from vulnerable populations across Cross River State, with particular attention to residents of underserved and riverine communities who often face financial and geographical barriers to healthcare.
Highlights of the ceremony included the live enrolment of beneficiaries, presentation of health insurance cards and unveiling of the partnership banner between the SSDC and the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency.
By Kingsley Agim
