Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo has approved free medical care for workers in the state’s workforce as part of the state’s Social Health Insurance Scheme.

Uzodimma gave the approval at a town hall meeting he held with top management staff of the Imo Civil Service, in Owerri.

The governor said the gesture was part of efforts to ensure that civil servants in the state remained healthy and well positioned to carry out their duties.

He added that more than 47,000 verified workers in the state would be captured by the scheme.

Uzodima therefore, directed the state’s Ministry of Health to immediately commence the process of getting all verified workers into the free medical scheme.

He also said that workers, at both state and Local Government levels, would be receiving medical care from government owned hospitals and designated private hospitals.

The state’s Head of Service, Mr Raymond Ucheoma, commended the governor for the kindness and untiring support to the welfare of workers.

He described the gesture as “a historic landmark and one of a kind”, noting that the promise would reinvigorate workers to continue putting in their best.

Uzodimma reassured workers who were due for promotion that they would all be promoted to boost their morale.

He also said that the shortfall in the number of teachers required by the Imo State Education Management Board (SEMB) would soon be a thing of the past as government had finalised plans to engage more teachers.

The meeting was attended by Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state.

Others are permanent secretaries, directors of ministries, chairman of the Imo Internal Revenue Service and the general manager, Imo Data Centre.

An international NGO, Sightsavers Nigeria, says it will provide free cataract surgery for 150 adults in remote communities of Shendam, Mangu and Pankshin Local Government Areas of Plateau.

The organisation’s Communications Officer, Ms Joy Tarbo, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Monday, ahead of the World Sight Day celebrated every Oct. 13.

Tarbo said the organisation would also engage in free eye health education, screening and provision of spectacles for drivers in FCT motor parks and the National Assembly.

She said the programme was in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Federal Ministry of Transport.

According to her, the lingering eye health crisis in the country will continue to spiral if priority is not given to the eye health system.

Tarbo said a 2007 report showed an estimated 1.1 million Nigerians were blind while over 403,000 others, aged 40 year and above, have severe vision impairment.

She said the number would be significantly higher now, adding that Nigeria should give priority to eye health system.

Tarbo said eye impairment has ripple effects on society, including areas of education, wellbeing, economics and health of citizens.

The NGO’s Country Director, Dr Sunday Isiyaku, called for “continued cross-sector collaboration, well-resourced interventions, funding, and commitments” to tackle the eye health burden in Nigeria.

“These will integrate inclusive eye health into wider health, education, employment, and development systems.

“We need all stakeholders, particularly the government and professional bodies, to rise to the challenge and meet the demand for services in the country,” he said.

Isiyaku added that the intervention would enable the country to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on inclusiveness and improving the health sector.

Also, Dr Selben Penzin, Senior Program Manager for Eye Health at Sightsavers, said the country should not be complacent and must build on recent successes.

Penzin also said the organisation was working with government and other partners to improve access to eye health services and cataract surgery for children in Northwest and Kogi.

The Nigerian Academy of Medicine has said the provision of health insurance would solve the problem of poor health services in the country.

The newly elected president of the academy, Professor Sam Ohaegbulam said, “I believe that part of the challenges we have in delivering quality health care services is due to poor funding, and health insurance is the only answer to that challenge.”

The academy has also linked the poor health care services in Nigeria to poor health insurance services, adding that millions of citizens are being forced to make out-of-pocket payments for health care services.

According to the group, given the country’s political leaders’ attitudes and the state of the economy, the government would not be able to afford to provide adequate funding for health care services on its own, highlighting the need for efficient compulsory health insurance services for Nigerians.

Ohaegbulam, who is the chief neurosurgeon at the Memfys Hospital for Neurosurgery, said, “Health insurance is largely the answer to Nigeria’s poor health care services. Without compulsory, successful health insurance, Nigeria cannot generate enough revenue to tackle the health challenges of its people.

“If someone cannot pay for the health insurance premium, the government or family members can help to pay rather than contributing and spending millions of naira for surgery, instead of enrolling in health insurance to enjoy the services at a reduced cost,” he added.

He charged the academy to champion a cause that would herald a turnaround in the public health care system in Nigeria so that both the elites and ordinary Nigerians could confidently patronise the system.