Sokoto Begins Contributory Healthcare Scheme For Civil Servants
For years Hussaini Musa, a civil servant, had relied on out-of-pocket payments to treat his wife’s recurring illness, often forcing the family to choose between buying medicine and meeting other household needs.
Now, with the launch of the Sokoto State Contributory Healthcare Scheme’s formal sector programme, Musa and thousands of other state workers may finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The Sokoto State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (SOCHEMA) says it is fully prepared to roll out the scheme, which promises affordable and accessible healthcare for state civil servants and their families.
Director General of SOCHEMA, Yusuf Abu Abdulkarim, made the announcement after a stakeholders’ meeting at the Ministry of Finance, Sokoto.
The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), their affiliates, and SOCHEMA executives, where final agreements for the smooth take-off were reached.
Abdulkarim explained that under the programme, four percent of a civil servant’s basic salary will be deducted to cover the worker, their spouse, and up to four biological children.
He said enrollees will begin accessing services after a three-month waiting period for data capturing, uploading, and empanelment, thereafter the beneficiaries can also enroll additional family members if desired.
He commended Governor Ahmad Aliyu for “paving the way” for the scheme’s commencement and expressed optimism that it would deliver the desired impact on the health and productivity of the state’s workforce.
Commissioner for Finance, Engineer Jabbi Shagari, described the programme as a milestone in providing qualitative and accessible healthcare to all categories of state civil servants.
He lauded SOCHEMA’s preparations and the cooperation of stakeholders, which he said had been critical to the progress made so far.
The Sokoto NLC Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Aliyu Jungle, represented by his vice, Comrade Yabo, pledged the union’s readiness to ensure effective monitoring of the scheme to guarantee that all agreements are strictly followed.
It will be recalled that SOCHEMA, NLC, TUC, and other unions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last year, setting the foundation for the programme’s take-off.
Sokoto Begins Contributory Healthcare Scheme For Civil Servants is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
