Niger enrols 1,000 out-of-school children in health insurance scheme

The Niger State government has enrolled 1000 out-of-school children into the state’s contributory healthcare insurance scheme, NiCare.

The children, from ages five to 24 years, were enrolled on Tuesday at Barikin Sale Model Primary School in Chanchaga Local Government Area under the Niger State At Risk Children Programme (ARC-P).

The state government said the enrolment was part of its effort towards integrating out-of-school children into mainstream formal education.

In her speech to the beneficiaries at the flag-off ceremony, the ARC-P Team Lead and Coordinator, Aisha Tafida, applauded the partnership and collaboration between NiCare and ARC-P in providing services and opportunities to out-of-school children in the state.

“The event is a collective effort in securing a brighter future of Niger State At-Risk Children,” she said.

Also speaking, the representatives of the Executive Secretary of NiCare, Ramatu Ismail, said it is a financing social health insurance scheme.

“We operate on the principle of risk sharing and pooling resources for the provision of affordable, accessible and qualitative healthcare to Nigerlites on a sustainable basis”.

The Programme Officer of NiCare, Habitat Umar, added that the scheme would enable the beneficiaries to receive quality healthcare without paying at the point of need.

READ ALSO: Economic Development: Lawmaker woos Kuwait to invest in Niger State

Similarly, Maricus Yohanna, the ARC-P Facilitator for Chanchaga LGA, said the enrollment would allow the at-risk children to access healthcare and be integrated into formal education, contributing to the state’s economic development.

Representative of the village head of Barikin Sale, Zakka Umar, said the enrollment of the children in his domain will support the indigent to have access to services paid for on their behalf.

The 1000 beneficiaries enrolled under the NICARE insurance scheme can access care for hypertension, diabetes, malaria, management of snake bites, laboratory investigations, and cataract extraction.