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.

A supplementary immunisation campaign for measles will begin in Edo from Oct. 5 to Oct. 13 across the 18 local government areas of the state, an official has said.

The Head of the Health Education Unit, Edo Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mrs  Irene Uabor,  announced this in Benin on Monday.

Uabor said that the campaign would focus on administering the measles vaccine to children of 9 months old to 59 months old, targeting those under five years old.

“Measles is a life-threatening disease caused by the measles virus that can spread from one infected person to another.

“Measles affects mostly children with the symptoms of fever, cough, running nose, red eyes, and small red spots in the mouth.

“It can lead to death due to complications in the form of diarrhoea and pneumonia,” she said.

She noted that in addition to the measles vaccine, children between zero and 23 months of age would receive other childhood vaccines due to them.

She also said that girls in the age bracket of nine years and 14 years would be administered the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine during the exercise.

“Health workers will be stationed at all primary health care centres and other designated locations, including crèches, schools, churches, mosques, markets, and other places where eligible children can be found”.

She said further that “vaccines are free, safe, and effective, parents and guardians are expected to take advantage of the campaign to protect their children from vaccine-preventable diseases.”

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.