The Katsina government says it has enrolled 386,289 people into the state’s contributory healthcare scheme.

Nasir Lawal, the director of planning, research and statistics of the Katsina State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KTSCHMA), disclosed this in Katsina on Friday.

Mr Lawal disclosed this in a quarterly presentation at the Social Protection Technical Working Group meeting.

The budget and economic planning ministry organised the meeting with the support of the UNICEF Kano field office.

According to him, 262,261 beneficiaries have been enrolled through the formal sector, while 83,870 people are under the scheme through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

Mr Lawal explained that more than 22,491 clients were also enrolled through the UNICEF-GAVI FUND/KTSCHMA MoU in eight zero-dose local government areas, with another 17,667 beneficiaries through the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

The KTCHMA representative revealed that no fewer than 12,205 under-five children were registered, while 3,786 pregnant women enjoy the scheme.

He noted that the state government had also registered 59,056 most vulnerable persons into the system, 4,938 others with disabilities, and 3,885 elderly persons.

He pointed out that the state government had evolved guidelines to ensure accountability for utilising contributions.

He explained that KTCHMA recently received another BHCPF disbursement for another enrollment in August 2024, which is ongoing.

The director also said the scheme had enrolled all the Katsina State Community Watch Corps with one dependent and more than 3,000 sickle cell clients.

During the meeting, Fatima Musa, a social policy specialist with UNICEF Kano Field Office, presented a paper on planning and budgeting for result-based social protection. 

(NAN)