The Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA) has inaugurated a State-Level Technical Oversight Committee to drive the implementation of its Context-Specific Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) Scheme under the Expanded Mutfwang Care programme, in a move aimed at extending quality and affordable healthcare services to underserved rural and informal-sector populations across the state.
The committee was inaugurated during a one-day Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) Workshop held on Tuesday at the PLASCHEMA Conference Hall in Jos, where government officials, development partners, healthcare providers and civil society organisations reaffirmed their commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Plateau State.
Inaugurating the committee, the Director General of PLASCHEMA, Dr. Kwande Solomon Dawal, described the initiative as another major milestone in the state’s journey towards expanding health insurance coverage and improving health outcomes for residents.
He explained that the workshop marked the transition from policy development to implementation, recalling that stakeholders had previously worked together to develop and validate the framework for the Plateau State Context-Specific Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme.
According to Dawal, the newly inaugurated committee comprises carefully selected representatives from key government agencies, development partners, professional bodies and civil society organisations whose collective expertise will provide the strategic leadership required for the successful implementation of the programme.
“The committee has the responsibility of providing strategic oversight, ensuring compliance with implementation guidelines, monitoring programme performance, promoting accountability and strengthening evidence-based decision-making to guarantee sustainable healthcare delivery,” he said.
He noted that the committee would serve an initial one-year term, subject to review, with the expectation of establishing a robust implementation framework capable of sustaining community-based health insurance across Plateau State.
The multi-sectoral committee comprises representatives of the Plateau State Primary Health Care Board, Plateau State Hospitals Management Board, Plateau State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (PLASEMSAS), Civil Society Organisations, Plateau Indigenous Development Association Network (PIDAN), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the World Health Organization (WHO), Plateau State Ministry of Health, Plateau State Bureau of Statistics, the State Health Educator, as well as Pharm. Joel Godgyen and Dr. Freeman Miri.
Earlier in his welcome address, Dawal said the Community-Based Health Insurance initiative was designed to deepen health insurance coverage while improving healthcare outcomes through a community-owned and context-specific model that reflects the socio-economic realities of Plateau’s predominantly rural population.
He noted that unlike previous community health insurance models, the new approach integrates community-based insurance into the state’s broader health insurance programme, allowing government equity funding, community participation and philanthropic support to complement one another in expanding healthcare access.
Speaking on the strategic role of Community-Based Health Insurance in achieving Universal Health Coverage, the PLASCHEMA Director General said although the agency had made significant progress since its establishment through programmes targeting formal sector workers, informal workers, vulnerable groups and tertiary institution students, overall health insurance coverage in Plateau State remains at approximately 10.8 percent.
He observed that more than 75 percent of the state’s population operates within the informal sector, where irregular incomes and poverty make conventional health insurance premium payment systems difficult.
Dawal said the new model therefore seeks to redesign health insurance around the realities of rural communities by leveraging traditional institutions, ward development structures, community associations and other grassroots organisations to create local ownership and ensure sustainability.
He disclosed that the pilot phase would commence in selected wards over a three-to-six-month period before being evaluated for expansion across the state.
Drawing lessons from countries such as Rwanda, Ghana and Ethiopia, where community-based health insurance has significantly improved healthcare access, he expressed confidence that Plateau State’s model could become a national reference point if successfully implemented.
Delivering a goodwill message, the Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Ba’amlong, described the inauguration of the task team as a significant step from planning to implementation, noting that it aligns with the state’s broader healthcare reform agenda.
Ba’amlong disclosed that health insurance enrollment in Plateau State has grown from fewer than 100,000 beneficiaries at the inception of the current administration to nearly 350,000, expressing optimism that the figure would reach 500,000 by next year and eventually approach one million through the Community-Based Health Insurance initiative.
Representing the Director General of the Plateau State Drugs and Medical Commodities Management Agency, Dr. Meshak Dayol reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to collaborating with PLASCHEMA through joint procurement of essential medicines, improved commodity distribution and strengthened quality assurance systems to guarantee affordable and quality healthcare services.
Also speaking, Rawen Lazarus Simon of the Plateau State Hospitals Management Board assured that government hospitals were fully prepared to strengthen referral services and support the implementation of the scheme, while Dr. Izang Abel Matthew of PLASEMSAS pledged continued collaboration to improve emergency referrals and maternal healthcare services across rural communities.
Chairman of the Civil Society Coalition on Healthcare Delivery, Rev. Christopher Damcher, commended PLASCHEMA for establishing the task team, describing community participation as critical to expanding enrollment. He urged stakeholders to intensify grassroots sensitisation to ensure more vulnerable residents benefit from health insurance services.
Health consultant, Dr. Solomon Kwakfut, said the initiative represented a major opportunity to democratize health insurance by taking it directly to rural communities. He, however, stressed that expanding enrollment must be matched with improvements in medicine availability, quality healthcare delivery and the readiness of health facilities to meet increased demand.
Sharing practical lessons from the Shiwer Mutual Health Association, Secretary of the association, Dr. Austin Gozuk, recounted the community’s nearly decade-long experience implementing one of Plateau State’s earliest community-based health insurance schemes.
He said the initiative demonstrated that flexible payment options, transparent financial management, community ownership, continuous public sensitisation and diversified funding sources were essential for sustaining community-based health insurance programmes.
Presenting PLASCHEMA’s operational readiness assessment, the agency’s Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Julfa Jude Nden, said baseline studies and facility readiness assessments indicated that participating health facilities possess the capacity required for implementation.
According to him, the assessments also revealed strong public acceptance of the initiative, with about 97 percent of respondents expressing support for the scheme if widely adopted within their communities.
Nden said PLASCHEMA’s committed leadership, skilled workforce, decentralised operations, robust information technology systems, effective monitoring and evaluation framework and previous engagements with community structures position the agency for successful implementation of the programme.
The workshop concluded with an interactive session during which stakeholders called for sustained community sensitisation, stronger financial accountability mechanisms, improved coordination between primary and secondary healthcare facilities, and greater involvement of traditional institutions, women and youth groups, community associations and diaspora organisations in mobilising enrollment.
Participants also urged the newly inaugurated Technical Oversight Committee to focus not only on increasing enrollment but also on ensuring beneficiaries have timely access to quality healthcare services.
Responding to the discussions, PLASCHEMA management assured stakeholders that robust accountability mechanisms, regular monitoring, facility-level committees and continuous community engagement had been incorporated into the implementation framework, while reiterating that the long-term vision is for communities themselves to take ownership of the programme to guarantee its sustainability.
The stakeholders expressed optimism that successful implementation of the Plateau State Context-Specific Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme would position Plateau as a leading model for expanding Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.
