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Akwa Ibom State Health Insurance Agency, AKSHIA, says it was targeting to enroll at least 500,000 persons into its insurance scheme before the end of December 2026.
It added that so far, 165,000 residents have taken up the insurance services since its commencement in 2024, stressing that 500,000 target would be achieved following the modalities and programmes put in place.
Addressing a press conference in Uyo, on Wednesday, in commemoration of the 2025 Universal Health Coverage Day with the theme: “Unaffordable Health Costs? We’re Sick of it,” the Chairman of AKSHIA, Dr Edikan Ekwere said the agency has taken its campaigns to the hinterlands on the need for everyone to enroll in the health insurance scheme.
He said the agency has been advocating for more hospitals, especially in the rural areas to be accredited for the scheme.
The Chairman also expressed optimism that with the oncoming tertiary institution social health insurance programme, and other programmes, the agency will have more enrollees.
He stated that those at the informal sector could as well benefit from the scheme by making an annual payment of N18,000 upfront, saying that part of governor Umo Eno’s decisions to declare a state of emergency on health sector was to guarantee families’ access to quality healthcare services and protecting them from the burden of out-of-pocket medical expenses.
His words, “As of today, we are pleased to inform you that over 165,000 citizens and residents of Akwa Ibom State have so far been enrolled into the State Health Insurance Scheme, cutting across the formal, informal sectors, and vulnerable populations. While we made some progress, more still needs to be done as we work towards our daunting target of over half a million enrollees by the end of next year.”
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Eno Attah described primary health care as the foundation for achieving universal health coverage. Attah noted that Primary health centre provides services to over 80 percent of the population with 80 percent of the most common ailment.
On his part, the Executive Secretary, Akwa Ibom State Health Insurance Agency, Dr Arthur Igbemi noted that due to paucity of funds, the scheme does not cover the treatment of some ailments such as cancer, Tuberculosis, HIV, or cosmetic surgery but covers all tests and screenings.
“Funding is another challenge, you need funds to cater for a lot of vulnerable persons in the state even the governor may have a lot to do but may not have all the resources to do so. Some sicknesses are not covered under this scheme, like cancer of any type. In this regard, we do some screening but don’t undertake the treatment. Cancer is a terminal sickness. So the money that would have been used to treat 20 persons cannot be used for one person who eventually could die.
“We have all it takes to get the best from the health sector, we have strong political will in the person of governor Bassey Eno and a very proactive commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem Emmanuel John, then the team leaders here to execute any task in health sector,” he said.
Akwa Ibom health insurance targets 500,000 enrollees by 2026 – State govt
