Kano State Government is to enrol 553 people living with HIV/AIDS to access free healthcare services, Aminu Bello-Sani, the Public Relations Officer, Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids (KSACA) disclosed in a statement on Monday, in Kano.
According to him, the Executive Secretary of the state’s Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA), Dr Halima Mijinyawa revealed this when she paid a courtesy visit to the Director General (DG) of (KSACA).
Mijinyawa said that the enrollment of the HIV/AIDS patients was part of their allocation for integration into the state’s basic healthcare provision fund, and for the attainment of Universal healthcare coverage in the state.
The KSCHMA executive secretary was at the Agency to inform the KSACA DG on their resolution for the selection of the eligible beneficiaries, and the criteria for the enrollment.
She explained that the Basic Health Provision Fund is a Federal Government intervention under the equity programme of the contributory health care scheme.
Mijinyawa added that the aim of the fund was to provide free healthcare services to pregnant women, children under five, the elderly, the poorest of the poor, and people living with disabilities.
Earlier, the KSACA DG, Dr Sabitu Shanono said the integration of HIV/AIDS into the programme was a welcome development as the global HIV/AIDS response was on the decline.
He commended the KSCHMA, but also pleaded with them to increase the number of HIV/AIDS patients in the programme.