The State Advocacy Team of the TB Network–Rivers has raised concerns over infrastructure challenges at the Primary Health Centre, PHC Erema, and barriers to National Identification Number, NIN, registration affecting access to the Rivers State Contributory Health Insurance Programme, RIVCHIPP, in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, ONELGA.
The concerns were raised during an advocacy visit by the team to the Medical Officer of Health, ONELGA, Dr Emmanuel Pelebo, where the group discussed gaps in health-service delivery and ways to improve community access to health insurance services.
The advocacy team highlighted the dilapidated roof at PHC Erema and the absence of an adequate client convenience facility as major infrastructure concerns.
Speaking during the visit, State Coordinator of TB Network–Rivers, Mr Messiah Fyneface Muzan, said the condition of the facility could affect the safety, comfort and quality of healthcare services provided to residents.
He also noted that the absence of an appropriate toilet facility could affect the comfort and dignity of patients and other users of the health center.
Responding to the concerns, Dr Pelebo acknowledged that the infrastructure challenges were already known to the local health authorities.
He said the issues would be presented to the Local Government Chairman as part of the concerns requiring possible intervention, adding that discussions with relevant health authorities were ongoing on ways to address some of the identified gaps.
The advocacy team also drew attention to challenges surrounding NIN registration, which is required for enrolment into RIVCHIPP.
According to the team, feedback from community engagements and supportive supervision showed that some prospective beneficiaries may be unable to enrol in the health insurance programme because they do not have NINs or may have difficulty meeting associated registration costs.
Muzan said the issue had previously been discussed with the Executive Secretary of RIVCHIPP, Dr Vetty Agala, who acknowledged the challenge and disclosed that engagements had been held with the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, towards facilitating NIN registration outreach within communities.
The proposed outreach, according to information shared during the engagement, is expected to make NIN registration more accessible and potentially reduce the cost for community members, while additional support could be considered for vulnerable persons who may still be unable to afford the registration fee.
The meeting stressed the need for collaboration among RIVCHIPP, NIMC, local government authorities, community structures and implementing partners to ensure that the proposed NIN registration outreach reaches residents who need the service.
The TB Network–Rivers team subsequently proposed further engagement with the ONELGA Local Government Chairman to seek support for the rehabilitation concerns at PHC Erema and efforts to improve NIN access for vulnerable community members.
The team also emphasized that NIN access should be treated as a community-wide health-access issue rather than one limited to beneficiaries of TB, HIV or malaria services, given its implications for broader access to health insurance services.
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