Chairmen of the 14 Local Government Areas in Zamfara State, alongside major stakeholders, have endorsed fresh strategies to boost domestic funding for the state’s health insurance scheme, the Zamfara State Contributory Health Management Agency (ZAMCHEMA).
The agreement was reached during a two-day advocacy meeting convened by UNICEF from September 18 to 19 at Azbir Hotel, Birnin Kebbi.
The session brought together the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ahmad Garba Yandi, the Executive Secretary of ZAMCHEMA, lawmakers from the State House of Assembly Committees on Health, Finance and Appropriation, representatives of the Ministries of Health and Budget and Economic Planning, as well as UNICEF health financing specialists who joined both in person and virtually.
Discussions centered on expanding enrolment into ZAMCHEMA, which was launched in 2018 to provide affordable healthcare coverage. With only 5.9 percent of Zamfara’s population currently enrolled, participants highlighted the pressing need to strengthen local resource mobilisation as international aid dwindles.
Stakeholders praised Governor Dauda Lawal for approving the inclusion of local government employees and their spouses in the scheme and for committing ₦1 billion in counterpart funding to UNICEF-backed health initiatives. They also acknowledged the government’s ongoing investment in renovating health facilities and recruiting new health workers.
In a communiqué at the close of the meeting, participants recommended the enrolment of two percent of poor and vulnerable households listed in the National Social Register into ZAMCHEMA. This would require an annual capitation of over ₦1 billion to cover 89,232 individuals across 147 wards. They also urged councils to release their mandatory 12 percent employer contributions for staff health insurance, extending coverage to four children per household.
The communiqué, signed by Hon. Ahmad Garba Yandi, Hon. Hussaini Samaila Moriki, and Yusuf Sabo Tsafe, further proposed earmarking ₦1.3 billion in the 2025 state budget for social protection programmes, sustaining the monthly drug procurement scheme worth ₦42 million for free distribution in primary healthcare centres, and working with the National Identity Management Commission to improve household registration.
The meeting was hailed as both timely and significant to push towards universal health coverage in Zamfara, particularly for women, children, and other vulnerable populations.
