‘Abiyamo health insurance scheme records over 4,000 babies’

• Ayedatiwa hints on construction of cancer care centre
• ILO rallies monarchs, community leaders to eliminate child labour in Ondo

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has disclosed that no fewer than 4,265 babies have been given birth to under the state’s Abiyamo Maternal and Child Health Insurance Scheme (AMCHIS).

According to the governor, the scheme, which was the brainchild of his erstwhile boss, the late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, in 2022, was designed for pregnant women and children under five years of age to prevent maternal mortality in the state.

The governor, who disclosed that plan had begun to construct a cancer healthcare centre in the state, spoke through his Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, and his Special Adviser on Health, Prof. Simi Odimayo, in Akure, the state capital.

Aiyedatiwa emphasised that of the 4,265 babies, 380 twins, 10 triplets, and two quadruplets were delivered under the scheme. He also said that the establishment of the Ondo State Contributory Health Commission aimed at ensuring universal health coverage for citizens of the state, which birthed 56,700 enrollees across 203 wards in the 18 local councils of the state.

He added that the ORANGHIS for the state’s informal sector had been flagged off, and over 4,000 artisans, market women, farmers, commercial transport operators, and private sector workers across the state, among others, would benefit from the scheme.

On his part, Odimayo said: “Approval has been given for regular payment of full hazard allowance for health workers, and commencement of new entry points of Grade Level 13 and 10 for doctors and nurses, respectively, as against GL 12 and 10, which was the norm.

IN another development, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has tasked traditional rulers, as well as community leaders in Ondo State, on the need to add their voices to the ongoing drive to eliminate child labour.

Director of the ILO Country Office in Abuja, Vanessa Phala, who gave the advice during a programme, tagged “ACCEL Africa Phase II Project,” emphasised that the training of the community leaders would in no small measure assist in the drive to tackle the menace as well as promoting child protection.

Phala, who was represented at the programme, which commenced on Tuesday and will end today in Akure by the Coordinator of the ACCEL Africa Phase II Project, Celine Oni, said that the project was funded by the government of The Netherlands to combat child labour in Ondo, Osun, and Niger states that are in the cocoa and artisanal small-scale gold mining supply chains.

Director, Inspectorate Department of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Grace Adeleye, said although commendable steps had been taken to address child labour in Nigeria, sustained efforts were needed to achieve lasting impact, adding that addressing legal framework gaps, expanding social protection, and tackling broader economic challenges are crucial in the matter.