NYSC corps members to boost NHIS as Nigeria releases $1m for delivery of contraceptives
The federal government of Nigeria has announced plans to enlist 320,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to improve delivery of the country’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), this decision was announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, while briefing State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to him, the plan for the enlistment has been concluded and implementation would soon begin, he added that this would be done annually. This is one of the several plans he announced the federal government of Nigeria is taking to boost healthcare delivery across the nation.
Family planning
The minister also announced the approval of the government and subsequent release of the sum of US$1 million which would be used for the delivery of contraceptives. This according to Adewole would enhance quality family planning among Nigerians.
He observed that Nigeria has been increasing its family planning campaigns nationwide and they are geared towards reducing maternal and child mortality.
According to UNICEF, every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world.
“Underneath the statistics lies the pain of human tragedy, for thousands of families who have lost their children. Even more devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths,”UNICEF stated in its latest report on maternal mortality in Nigeria.
The minister added that the federal government-sponsored family planning campaign will also help Nigeria to reduce the impending population explosion.
PremiumTimes reported that to achieve this, the federal ministry of health last year launched a new family planning logo “green dot” which would help notify Nigerians on availability of family planning services across most primary health care centres in the country.