The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has commenced the enrollment of 10,000 people in Rivers West Senatorial District under the “Bringing Healthcare Home” initiative.

Dr Kelechi Ohiri, Director-General of NHIA, made this known in a statement by Emmanuel Ononokpono, Assistant Director of Media, on Wednesday in Abuja.

The programme was sponsored by Sen. Ipalibo Banigo, the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Health.

It was aimed at expanding access to quality healthcare in the region, and was launched in Ahoada East Local Government Area of the State.

Ohiri said that health insurance was a critical tool to combat health-related poverty issues and inequality.

He said that access to affordable healthcare was essential for maintaining human dignity.

“The initiative targets reducing the high rate of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses in Nigeria, with 70 per cent of the population currently bearing healthcare costs without financial support,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sponsor of the programme, Sen. Ipalibo Banigo, affirmed her commitment to improving healthcare access for her constituents.

“At the flag-off, over 30 beneficiaries received their health insurance identity cards, marking the beginning of their coverage under the programme, which spans eight Local Government Areas in Rivers West,” she said.

She said that the initiative underscored the role of health insurance in addressing social inequalities and improving healthcare access, particularly for vulnerable communities.

Edo declares cholera outbreak, confirms 6 cases

The Edo State Ministry of Health on Thursday declared a cholera outbreak in the state, confirming  six cases of the disease so far.

Dr Stephenson Ojeifo, Director, Public Health in the ministry, announced this during a news conference in Benin.

Ojeifo said that the six confirmed cases were identified among the 40 suspected cholera cases recorded to date in the state.

“We sent  23  suspected samples that tested positive to the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) to the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja for confirmatory test.

“We also have three suspected samples that tested negative to RDT but with obvious clinical signs and symptoms.

“The total number of samples sent to the national reference laboratory for confirmatory testing are 26.

“As of Tuesday this week, we received 15 results out of which six were confirmed positive to cholera and we are still expecting some outstanding results,” he said.

He noted that while the results were expected, the patients were managed inline with the cholera protocol management procedure.

“The patients are well and have been discharged and luckily we have not had any person in the community that have come down with symptoms of cholera,” he said.

He also said that three of the confirmed cases of the disease were from Egor, two from Uhunmwonde while one was from Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area.

He noted that more actions had been taken to ensure that the outbreak was adequately addressed.

“We are activating all pillars to swing into actions to help in addressing the outbreak we have in our hands.

“The state, in collaboration with the Edo Primary Health Care Development Agency, have selected some Primary Health Centres (PHCs) at the grassroots to manage suspected cholera cases.

“The University of Benin Teaching Hospital; Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua; Edo State University Teaching Hospital,  Auchi; and the Central Hospital, Benin City, have been mapped as the referral centre point for management of severe suspected cholera cases.

“But we now have selected PHCs at the different local government areas with doctors and nurses to adequately manage these cases,” Ojeifo said.

He advised against self medication urging persons suffering from watery stool and diarrhoea to visit the hospital for treatment.

He also urged the public to stay calm, practise good hygiene and sanitation as well as promptly report suspected Cholera cases to relevant authorities.

The Cross River Government has confirmed one case of Mpox in  Okoshe community in Obudu Local Government Area.

The confirmation is coming a few days after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) reported a case in the state.

The Mpox case was initially denied by the State  Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk.

However, Ayuk, while addressing newsmen in Calabar on Sunday, said that the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja confirmed the presence of Mpox in one patient in Obudu.

He explained that the Ministry of Health was alerted to a possible case of Mpox or chickenpox on Aug.19 by an Ebonyi Epidemiologist.

“The patient, a female resident of Okoshe village in Obudu, sought medical care at the Federal Medical Centre in Abakaliki.

“Her test sample was sent to the National Reference Laboratory, and the result, which returned on Saturday, Aug. 24, confirmed Mpox and ruled out chickenpox,” Ayuk said.

The commissioner said that the state government was working to prevent a possible outbreak in the area.

“While we are still investigating the patient’s travel history, the state government is taking immediate action to contain any possible spread in Obudu,” he assured.

The commissioner said the ministry had ordered for immediate activation of the Mpox Emergency Operation Center to strengthen the response.

He said Dr Ekpo Ekpo, Special Adviser to Gov. Bassey Otu on Health, has been appointed as Incident Manager.

He also directed the Obudu LGA response team to collaborate with the state health team to mitigate efforts immediately.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), reports that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River appealed to the state government to enhance surveillance measures, citing the state’s vulnerability to such outbreak.