By Nasiru Muhammad
World Health Organization (WHO) Partners with Kano State Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KASCHMA) to accelerate progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The World Health Organization team under the able leadership of Country Representative (WR) and Head of Mission Dr. Kazadi Mulombo Walter, ably represented by Dr. Mayana Sanusi Abubakar (Kano State Coordinator) paid a courtesy call to the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency.
The coordinator on behalf of the WR commends the efforts of the Executive Secretary (ES) Dr. Rahila Aliyu Mukhtar in moving the Agency forward through various initiatives and strategies that have improved the quality of life of the Kano state populace during her first year in office and urge her to continue to summon the energy to address emerging challenges in the scheme for the benefit of vulnerable population.
He added that the milestone achieved by the ES within the short period was commendable compared to many states in Nigeria.
He further lauded the political will of the state government under the able leadership of Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf for all the investments put in place to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Dr Mayana emphasized that ongoing reform by the current administration in enacting new policies and revamping legislative and regulatory frameworks such as the State Health Contributory Schemes managed by KASCHMA is indeed yielding positive outcomes towards reducing catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures and improving access to healthcare by all without undue hardship.
He finally said the World Health Organization would provide the needed technical support to the agency at all levels using the WHO workforce in Kano state field office to catalyze the actions of improving quality of care in health facilities supported by KASHCMA through capacity building, data analytics, policy reviews and enhancing use of data for decision making.
In her response, the Executive Secretary Dr. Rahila Aliyu Mukhtar appreciated the WHO team for the visit and added that since her assumption she has been working hard to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme in the state and looking forward to more support from WHO to improve efficiency towards achieving the desired outcome.
Dr. Rahila added that many initiatives were put in place to improve healthcare service in the engaged facilities especially driving actions of improving the quality of services and ensuring that essential drugs are available at all service delivery points to the satisfaction of all enrollees.
The integration of KASCHMA drugs into the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) which would commence soon is part of the efforts to address the out-of-stock syndrome in the affiliated health facilities, she added, as reported by Muhammad Nura Yusuf, the agency’s spokesman.