The Gombe State government has enrolled 40,000 vulnerable persons in healthcare schemes to enhance quality healthcare service delivery at the grassroots.
The enrollees had registered under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund between 2021 to date.
The Team Lead, Gombe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, GoHealth, Dr Abubakar Musa stated this while responding to a survey on the social safety net programme.
According to him, “the healthcare programme is being implemented in collaboration between the state and the Nigerian Government.”
He said the enrollees comprised people above 65 years, children under the age of five, pregnant women, People Living with Disabilities (PWDs), and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Musa said the beneficiaries were drawn across the 114 wards of the state, to enable them to enjoy free quality healthcare services.
He said, “the beneficiaries are expected to provide National Identity Card Number (NIN) and meet other specified guidelines to ensure that they were within the target population.”
Also, Ibrahim Yusuf, Chairman, Advocacy Centre for Development, a non-governmental organisation in Gombe, advocated for the allocation of houses to senior citizens in the state.
He said; “We are calling on the government to allocate some houses for the senior citizens out of the six housing estates in the Gombe metropolis.”
Yusuf said there was a need for government to prioritise the needs of senior citizens in terms of security, and psychosocial support, among others.
“The senior citizens served their fatherland in various capacities with nothing to show, hence the need to consider them.
“It is good for the government to provide their benefit before exiting the service.
“It is also desirable to establish a recreational centre for the senior citizens where they will be meeting with pears to ease their difficulties and other problems associated with old age,” he said.
NAN
