Rivers targets universal health coverage with system overhaul 

The Rivers State Government has said that the state’s health system is undergoing deliberate structural and transformational reforms spanning service delivery, governance, financing, and infrastructure.

Speaking against the backdrop of World Universal Health Coverage, UHC Day, commemorated annually on December 12, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, said Governor Siminalayi Fubara remains committed to ensuring that no resident is denied access to healthcare because of cost, distance, or circumstance.

According to Dr Oreh, Governor Fubara has taken a bold step in demonstrating his commitment to Universal Health Coverage through the Rivers State Health Contributory Health Protection Programme, RIVCHIPP.

The commissioner described RIVCHIPP as a strategic pathway to achieving universal health coverage in the state, adding that the insurance programme is “very operational, functional and already delivering real protection to residents of Rivers State.”

Dr Oreh explained that “RIVCHIPP is now giving families access to accredited health care facilities, offering essential services including emergency and referral services, maternal, newborn and child health, preventive and primitive care, and financial protection from catastrophic health expenses.”

She noted that the insurance programme serves as the state government’s engine for universal health coverage, ensuring that low-income earners and the most vulnerable residents are not left behind.

The commissioner further assured that the Rivers State Government’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage goes beyond health insurance.

She said the state is “expanding and strengthening the entire health system, upgrading physical infrastructure across primary, secondary and tertiary health systems in the state, equipping facilities with essential diagnostics, modern technology and functional medical equipment, and recruiting and deploying health workers” to ensure that every community has access to skilled health professionals, among other critical interventions.

She explained that these efforts are aimed at reducing the financial burden on residents, improving the quality of care, and advancing the state’s journey towards achieving UHC.

Dr Oreh emphasised that attaining Universal Health Coverage is not solely the responsibility of government.
She appealed to residents to enrol in the state government’s health insurance programme, stressing that “good health should not depend on your ability to pay but on your right as a resident of the state.”
She commended Governor Fubara for his leadership, which she said has continued to strengthen and reposition the health system in Rivers State.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of RIVCHIPP, Dr Vetty Agala, speaking on the theme for this year’s Universal Health Coverage Day, “Unaffordable Health Care Cost: We are Sick of It”, said the state insurance programme is no longer just an idea on paper.

Addressing an event to mark UHC in Port Harcourt, Dr Agala emphasised that UHC is not merely a mandate but the operating system by which the state functions every day.

She stated that for UHC to be effective, residents must be protected from “catastrophic health expenditure.”

She stressed that citizens must be “visible in the policy of the government, covered in practice and enrolled in the UHC plan of the state, which is RIVCHIPP.”

Dr Agala revealed that approximately 140,000 people have already begun accessing care through RIVCHIPP since the programme commenced in 2024.

She added that RIVCHIPP maintains a network of healthcare providers, both public and private, spanning 210 facilities across the 23 local government areas of the state.

Rivers targets universal health coverage with system overhaul