TARABA STATE CONTRIBUTORY HEALTH INSURANCE AGENCY COMMITED TO PROVIDING QUALITY HEALTH SERVICE.
By Worldview Magazine
In a bid to provide quality and affordable healthcare services to its inhabitants, the Taraba State Government established the Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (TSCHIA) in December 2019.
Since it’s creation, the Agency has been making efforts towards providing quality and affordable healthcare services to residents of the state.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Pharmacist Jacobs Akenzukpi, Executive Secretary of TSCHIA, disclosed that the agency is currently working tirelessly to ensure that all residents of the state have access to quality healthcare services without financial barriers.
According to Akenzukpi, the agency prioritizes vulnerable populations, including children under five years, pregnant women, displaced persons, mentally and physically challenged individuals, and aged people.
He explained that the enrolment process is straightforward, with multiple channels available, including community outreach, health social register, and self-enrolment.
“As you are aware, Taraba state has about 3.8million inhabitants and it is essential that they have access to quality healthcare. The challenge is that, people get sick but, in most cases, don’t have money to go to hospital. It is also in our record that over 70 percent of people when they are sick and go to the hospital, they pay from their pockets.
“As I speak to you, we have over seventy thousand people enrolled in these facilities across the Wards in the State. One will ask, who are the vulnerable people in our communities? They are children that are below five years. They are supposed to be enrolled so that whenever they are sick, they would go and receive free medical treatment.
“Pregnant women also fall in this category of vulnerable people. Any pregnant woman that is able to go to these facilities is enrolled and given proper healthcare so they don’t deliver at home or in a bad condition. We also extended free medical services to people who are displaced as a result of crises, criminal activities, flood disaster and so on. Another category is those who are mentally and physically challenged. We equally capture aged people that is, those who are 65 years and above” He clarified.
Akenzukpi also lamented that despite the progress made, the agency faces challenges such as awareness creation, finance, and mobility and logistics.
However, he expressed optimism that with the support of the Taraba State Government, international partners, and organizations like UNICEF, the agency will overcome these challenges.
“Our operations are simple, we work in synergy with Taraba State Primary Healthcare Development Agency. Our relationship with them is a demand and supply one. This entails that we demand services while, they provide the services.
“As I speak with you, Taraba State is made up of one hundred and sixty-eight (168) political wards and the mandate is that each Ward should have one Primary Healthcare Facility that is situated right in the ward so that people can have access to healthcare services and currently, each of the wards has one Primary Healthcare.
“It is structured in a way that once you go and the quality service that you need beyond the Primary Healthcare, they will refer you to the Secondary and even Tertiary Healthcare like Federal Medical Centers and Teaching Hospitals as the case may be and what we do is that, for the vulnerable people, we pay for all their cases that are referred to the Secondary/Tertiary Facility through the Referral System” He stated.
On the challenges he earlier outlined, he called on government to assist the agency with vehicles and logistics to reach out to all the Wards and LGAs in the State to position things better so that access to quality healthcare will be guaranteed
