EU-SARAH Initiative: Hon. Adato Joins Stakeholders Engagement To Improve Health Insurance Coverage For Vulnerable Groups In Kwara Communities

The Kwara State House of Assembly Member representing Ojomu Balogun Constituency and Chairman House Committee on Health & Nutrition, Hon. Seun Ogunniyi has joined the stakeholders engagement to improve health insurance coverage for vulnerable groups in Kwara Communities.

Recall the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency (KW-HIA), in collaboration with the European Union (EU), the Federal Government of Nigeria, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UNICEF, on Tuesday hosted a strategic stakeholders’ engagement meeting in Ilorin aimed at expanding access to health insurance for vulnerable groups across the state.

The engagement, held under the auspices of the EU-SARAH programme (Strengthening Access to Reproductive and Adolescent Health), brought together actors across the healthcare value chain to deliberate on implementation strategies for the €40 million initiative.

Kwara is one of three pilot states selected to benefit from the programme alongside Sokoto and Adamawa.

Hon. Seun Ogunniyi, who was in attendance, described the meeting as a crucial step toward realising the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration’s vision of inclusive healthcare delivery.

According to him, the EU-SARAH programme is a funding support arrangement targeted at enrolling specific vulnerable groups into the state’s health insurance scheme, including pregnant women, children under five, women of reproductive age who are survivors of gender-based violence, and fistula patients.

He explained that a thorough field mapping and identification exercise is scheduled to commence in August, after which qualified beneficiaries will be registered and given access to a broad package of free healthcare services.

Calling for broad-based support, Ogunniyi urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organizations, security agencies, and the media to work collaboratively with the field officers to ensure the integrity of the process and reach of the programme.

The lawmaker reaffirmed the state’s commitment to ensuring no one is left behind in the push for accessible and quality healthcare.

The EU-SARAH programme, launched to bridge critical gaps in reproductive and adolescent health in underserved communities, represents a landmark partnership in Nigeria’s effort to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).