From Muawuya Bala Idris, Katsina
The number of beneficiaries enrolled in the Katsina State Health Insurance Scheme has increased from 355,000 in 2023 to 583,460 in 2026, representing a 64 per cent growth within three years.
Governor Dikko Umar Radda disclosed this on Saturday while flagging off the enrolment of 184,105 beneficiaries into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) across the 361 political wards in Katsina State at the General Hospital, Katsina.
He said the achievement reflected his administration’s sustained investment in expanding access to quality healthcare and ensuring that poor and vulnerable citizens were not left behind.
Radda said Katsina had emerged as one of Nigeria’s leading states in healthcare financing and service delivery, noting that the Katsina State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KTSCHMA) won the National Health Insurance Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025.
He added that the agency had hosted peer-review visits from seven states seeking to understudy Katsina’s innovative healthcare financing model.
The governor said his administration had revitalised Primary Healthcare Centres across the state, established modern facilities, including an Imaging and Cancer Treatment Centre and a Dialysis Centre, and upgraded several Comprehensive Health Centres into fully fledged General Hospitals.
He disclosed that about 98 per cent of state and local government employees had been enrolled in the health insurance scheme, while retirees, members of the Hisbah Corps, the Katsina State Community Watch Corps and persons with disabilities continued to benefit from free health insurance provided by the state government.
Radda also announced that enrolment in the Katsina State Health Insurance Scheme had become a mandatory requirement for all government employment programmes.
According to him, the policy is designed to protect beneficiaries from catastrophic out-of-pocket medical expenses while accelerating the state’s drive towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“An Executive Memorandum will be issued immediately to ensure full compliance across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
“Health insurance is now mandatory in Katsina State because we are determined to protect our people from avoidable financial hardship arising from medical expenses,” the governor said.
He explained that the policy aligned with the Federal Government’s Universal Health Coverage agenda and his administration’s Building Your Future development blueprint.
The governor said the government had strengthened the Katsina State Drugs and Medical Supplies Management Agency through an innovative financing model that channels 50 per cent of capitation funds directly to healthcare facilities.
He said the initiative had significantly reduced drug stock-outs while improving accountability and service delivery.
Radda noted that Katsina’s healthcare financing model had continued to attract national and international recognition, revealing that countries such as Kenya had adopted aspects of the state’s healthcare financing framework.
He added that KTSCHMA’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform now enables real-time tracking of enrollees, thereby enhancing transparency, efficiency and healthcare service delivery.
The governor further disclosed that the Katsina State Government recently paid N243 million as counterpart funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund as a matching grant.
He commended the Director-General of KTSCHMA, Mohammed Ibrahim Safana, for his leadership and professionalism, noting that his emergence as Chairman of the Forum of Chief Executive Officers of State Social Health Insurance Agencies reflected the confidence reposed in him by his colleagues across the country.
Radda also praised the agency’s Governing Council, management and staff for building a transparent, accountable and efficient health insurance system that continues to improve healthcare delivery across the state.
“The journey towards Universal Health Coverage is challenging, but it is achievable. Through collaboration, innovation and accountability, we will continue working until every resident of Katsina State has access to affordable, quality and sustainable healthcare services,” he said.
He further disclosed that, in line with resolutions reached at the recent National Health Insurance Summit, Katsina State had commenced the process of establishing a sustainable healthcare financing model to safeguard the gains recorded in the health sector and preserve them for future generations.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Musa Adamu Funtua, said the administration had revitalised more than 200 Primary Healthcare Centres, recruited over 1,000 frontline healthcare workers, expanded the Drug Revolving Fund by 400 per cent and increased funding for the state’s Free Medicare Programme by 207 per cent.
Funtua said KTSCHMA’s capitation and fee-for-service financing model had transformed healthcare delivery at the General Hospital, Katsina, through the renovation and expansion of critical facilities, revival of an abandoned operating theatre, establishment of a Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and provision of modern medical equipment, including ECG machines, ultrasound scanners and oxygen concentrators.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of KTSCHMA, Mohammed Ibrahim Safana, described the official flag-off of the BHCPF enrolment as a historic milestone in Katsina’s journey towards Universal Health Coverage.
He explained that the BHCPF finances essential primary healthcare services, including antenatal care, immunisation, chronic disease screening and other lifesaving interventions for poor and vulnerable residents.
Safana disclosed that, as of July 2026, KTSCHMA had enrolled more than half a million residents into the state’s health insurance scheme.
He revealed that within the last 12 months, the agency financed 205,693 severe malaria treatments, 142,293 hypertension cases, 83,787 diabetes cases and 17,907 hospital bed days, including Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) services.
According to him, the scheme also financed 223 Caesarean Sections and 150 Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception (ERPC) procedures, significantly improving maternal and child healthcare across the state.
Safana explained that KTSCHMA operates a transparent healthcare financing model, with 50 per cent of capitation paid directly to healthcare facilities, 15 per cent allocated to human resources, 15 per cent for laboratory reagents, 10 per cent for administrative costs and 10 per cent reserved for sustainability.
He added that the agency’s real-time digital enrollee tracking platform had positioned Katsina among Nigeria’s leading states in healthcare automation while strengthening transparency, accountability and service delivery.
The Director-General attributed the agency’s achievements to the leadership of Governor Radda, saying sustained investment and sound healthcare financing had transformed healthcare delivery across the state.
He also highlighted KTSCHMA’s National Health Insurance Excellence Awards in 2024 and 2025, as well as peer-review visits from several states seeking to understudy Katsina’s health insurance model.
Safana appealed to Governor Radda to approve the full implementation of the Katsina State Health Trust Fund, saying the initiative would institutionalise sustainable healthcare financing and preserve the administration’s achievements for future generations.
On his part, the Medical Director of General Hospital, Katsina, Dr Abdulrahman Muhammad, thanked Governor Radda for providing the hospital with an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system, solar power generators and a dedicated cleaning company, describing the interventions as transformative.
He said the solar power project had significantly reduced electricity costs, enabling the hospital to channel more of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) towards procuring medical equipment and maintaining healthcare facilities.
The Medical Director invited Governor Radda to visit the General Hospital, Katsina, to personally inspect the improvements recorded at the facility, describing them as the result of the administration’s sustained investment in healthcare.
