The government of Plateau State announced on Monday that the number of citizens enrolled in the contributory healthcare scheme has gone up to 277,862.
Dr Agabus Manasseh, the Director General of the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, revealed this information during a media event aimed at improving public health in the state.
He pointed out that 124,278 citizens from the formal sector and 8,342 from the informal sector have enrolled, with the formal sector having the highest enrollment and the informal sector having the lowest.
The Director General stated, “The government is committed to removing the healthcare obstacles faced by vulnerable groups and the informal sector, which makes up over 70 percent of the population in hard-to-reach areas. This led to the establishment of the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, PLASCHEMA.
“By investing more in healthcare, we anticipate a much healthier population with significant economic benefits, reinforcing the idea that health is wealth.
“The current enrollment has risen to 277,862 from the previous total of 110,158 in June 2023. Our goal is to increase this number by 20 percent annually as per our five-year development plan for the agency.”
The Director General emphasized that the contributory healthcare plan is for all public sector employees, including state government, local government, and the organized private sector.
He urged residents in the informal sector, such as traders, farmers, artisans, public and private primary school pupils, students of public and private secondary schools, and students of tertiary institutions, including community-based Social Health insurance schemes, to join the scheme and gain access to quality healthcare.
“The state governor, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, has shown support for the agency by approving a counterpart fund of N327 million for three years. We expect N170 million and N10 million each from the 17 local government areas as counterpart funds.
“As an agency, we assure you that we will not stop in our efforts to achieve better and more accessible healthcare for Plateau residents,” he added.
