>
The Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) has begun efforts to bring Tuberculosis (TB) patients to its scheme.
The Executive Secretary of the agency Dr Sola Akande disclosed this in an interview with Newspeakonline.
Akande explained that TB patients were becoming vulnerable in Nigeria due to prevalent poverty. He pointed out that nine out of 10 TB patients can’t afford the cost of medicine, or even food needed to support medicine intake.
He said: “What we are bringing on board pertains to a conference we just finished. We are trying to see how we can get TB patients to be beneficiaries under the scheme. The people with TB are gradually becoming vulnerable groups and nine out 10 people that come down with TB are among the poor. Social workers even help some to get food to eat and their kind of drugs requires a lot of food but we are trying to find a way to see how we can get it done.
I am sure that by the time we are getting to the end of the year, we will be able to know whether we can get them on board or not.”
Akande also revealed that private schools were already indicating interest in enrolling their staff and students on the scheme.
“We want to say to all our schools that it is a value added for your students. People that want to register their wards, children in your school, if you can have a good health insurance for them, especially parents that bring their children from outside the town will be at ease when they are sure that their children are covered health wise which is one of the major fears for parents that have their children outside their cover, state, town or locality.