North East Development Commission, NEDC, has introduced a Vulnerable Community Health Insurance Scheme to improve healthcare access for rural populations across Adamawa State, especially the underserved areas.
State Coordinator of the commission, Mr Khalifa Lawan announced this yesterday in Yola, during a stakeholders engagement meeting on healthcare challenges in remote communities.
Lawan said many rural residents struggle to access medical care due to high drug cost, poor transport and alarming shortage of trained health workers across villages and hard-to-reach settlements.
“Sometimes, a whole community may have only one dispensary, with no one available to attend to patients.
“That is why we designed this community-based scheme targeting vulnerable and uninsured populations,” he said.
He explained that no fewer than 20 percent of Nigerians are formally employed, meaning the majority, particularly rural dwellers and farmers, are left out of conventional health insurance coverage frameworks.
According to him, the pilot phase will begin in three local government areas, one from each senatorial district, with three wards and three health facilities selected from each participating local government.
He said the initiative aims to enrol 1,680 vulnerable individuals including pregnant women, the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions, providing access to primary care for the most at-risk groups.
Lawan assured stakeholders that the scheme would be free from political interference, stating that no government official or wealthy elite would be allowed to influence or manipulate the selection process.
He said the pilot phase would run for six months, after which the commission would assess its impact and consider expanding the scheme to cover more local government areas.
On infrastructure, Lawan disclosed that NEDC had deployed more than 7,000 solar-powered streetlights across the state to strengthen local security and improve nighttime mobility in various communities.
“We found that lighting is one of the strongest deterrent to crime. Even though it is expensive, it is a priority. Even 100,000 solar lights won’t fully meet the demand,” he noted.
He emphasised the need for local communities to take ownership of public infrastructure and urged residents to protect projects like the solar lights and healthcare facilities provided by the commission.
Lawan also called on the media to play a central role in raising awareness about the commission’s programmes and promote transparency, inclusiveness and accountability across all implementation stages.
