The Enugu State Agency for Universal Health Coverage has extended the health insurance scheme to traders to enable them to access affordable and quality healthcare services.

ESA-UHC signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Union of Market Traders Employers of Nigeria to take off the scheme.

Speaking at the event in Enugu on Monday, the executive secretary of ESA-UHC, Edith Okolo, described the agreement as a landmark step toward extending healthcare services to an underserved segment of the population.

Ms Okolo said every trader would pay an annual premium of N12,000 to access the health insurance package. She explained that NUMTEN would collect the premium as part of members’ regular union dues before remitting it to the agency.

Ms Okolo said the partnership showed the state government’s commitment to giving market traders access to quality and affordable medical services.

The ESA-UHC boss said both organisations would work together to ensure the scheme’s success, adding that its outcome would measure the partnership’s effectiveness.

She said that the agency had established a 24-hour control room and a toll-free line to enable beneficiaries to report challenges while accessing healthcare services. According to her, feedback from beneficiaries is critical to improving service delivery and ensuring accountability among accredited healthcare providers.

Ms Okolo added that enrollees under the scheme would have the freedom to choose any accredited healthcare provider rather than being assigned to a particular facility.

The chairman of NUMTEN in Enugu, Ezeoha Eneh, commended the state government and ESA-UHC for initiating the partnership, describing it as a major intervention for low-income traders.

Mr Eneh said the programme would likely attract many market traders, adding that the union would carry out extensive sensitisation campaigns across markets in the state.

He noted that although the N12,000 annual premium might seem significant to some traders, it remained affordable compared with the cost of medical treatment paid from personal income.

(NAN)