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By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Executive Secretary of Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), Dr. Sola Akande, has disclosed that a UK-based pastor has promised to enrol 5000 persons into the state health Insurance scheme.
Akande made the disclosure while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital at the weekend.
“On December 19, we are going to have a big ceremony. We have a pastor that lives in the UK, he just has the passion for his communities- Oniyere, Aperin axis and he is particular about Primary Healthcare Center (PHC), Orita Aperin.
“His resolve is to enrol 5,000 lives. He said to me one day that, do I know that, if anything should happen to him here (his community), that may be the end. He said PHC that is next to my house, I want to bring it up to the level that it can observe some secondary services.
“So, we had this agreement to begin empanelling lives into that on a gradual basis. We know that if a PHC will have 3500 lives, that PHC should be self sufficient. So, he will start the first 500 on December 19. In another quarter, he is going to add 500 lives, until we have 5000 lives in Primary Healthcare Center, Aperin.
“We are going to mobilise. He is not only empanelling, he will also distribute food to everyone coming that day. He said God instructed him to do so,” he said.