Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme as a way forward in Health financing in Nigerian Rural Areas of Sokoto State

Abstract

Health financing in most of Sub Saharan Africa is based on out-of-pocket payment from the people. Because of out-of-pocket payment has caused so many families in SSA poor. This is to encourage people in SSA to implement Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme as the program is about risk pooling. This is significant because it provides a chance for the people to be out of poverty as a result of high money paid whenever they are assessing health care through out-of-pocket payment at the point of service delivery. This view of community-based health insurance is a new area of health financing in the developing countries supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank (WB), International Labor Organization among others. In the SSA countries like Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso has been very successful in this direction. In Nigeria, this concept of community-based health insurance plan is a new development so effort should be made to create awareness about this laudable project. But with CBHIS health care services would be provided based on the needs of the community. And as the focal point of CBHIS is the informal sector and the vast majority of the Nigerian people are located in the rural areas. the majority of the diseases that are killing our people are mostly communicable and preventable diseases. The management of the CBHIS is going to be by the rural people who will appoint among themselves those that are capable of the job. While, the Health Maintenance Organization are charged by the law to supervise the activities of these CBHIS.