No fewer than 38,680 residents across the 18 Local Government Areas of Cross River State have enrolled in the State Health Insurance Scheme, marking progress toward the 150,000 target set for 2026.
The Director-General of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency (CRSHIA), Godwin Iyala, disclosed the figure on Friday in Calabar while providing an update on the agency’s activities over the past year. He explained that the current enrolment reflects a transition to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) 2.0, which mandates the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for all enrollees.
According to Iyala, the new requirement necessitated a clean-up of earlier records. “All those who enrolled before the implementation but had no NIN had to be removed,” he said, noting that the present figure “reflects only those who have NIN.” He added that beneficiaries were captured under various categories, including the public sector, informal sector, and vulnerable groups.
The agency, he said, is expanding its coverage scope with plans to implement the Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP), aimed at extending health insurance to students in higher institutions across the state.
Iyala further revealed that enrollees are already accessing healthcare services daily through 196 accredited facilities located across the 196 electoral wards in the state, ensuring geographical spread and accessibility. He noted that CRSHIA has fully digitalised its operations to enhance efficiency and transparency in service delivery.
“Digitisation has helped in reducing bottlenecks and allowed enrollees to interact with the system more seamlessly,” he said, adding that the initiative is improving turnaround time and overall user experience within the scheme.
The DG urged healthcare providers participating in the scheme to maintain professionalism and deliver quality services to beneficiaries, stressing that improved service delivery would boost public confidence and drive enrolment.
He attributed the agency’s gains to the support of Governor Bassey Otu and his wife, Eyoanwan Otu, who serves as an ambassador for the scheme. Iyala disclosed that the governor’s wife had personally funded the enrolment of 500 elderly persons into the programme.
Despite the progress, Iyala identified key challenges, including inadequate funding, logistics constraints, limited human resources, and low enrolment figures linked to the absence of NIN among some residents.
He commended individuals who have sponsored indigent persons under the scheme and called on more citizens to support vulnerable groups, reiterating the agency’s commitment to achieving universal health coverage across Cross River State.
