The Ebonyi State Government has announced plans to enrol an additional 200,000 citizens into the State Health Insurance Scheme as part of efforts to expand access to affordable and quality healthcare across the state.
Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru disclosed this on Thursday when he received the National Executive Committee of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), led by its President, Professor Apollos Ndukuba, at his office.
The Governor said his administration remained committed to improving the welfare of medical doctors, healthcare workers and other allied medical personnel in the state, noting that their wellbeing was critical to the effective delivery of healthcare services.
According to him, the government had significantly improved the emoluments of medical personnel while also activating general hospitals across the state and recruiting doctors, health attendants and other healthcare workers.
“We also activated our General Hospitals, recruited Medical Doctors, Health Attendants and other allied medical staff, and provided mobility for medical doctors resident in the General Hospitals. We did all these because we want them to render these essential services for our people,” Governor Nwifuru said.
He explained that the extensive infrastructural interventions carried out across the state’s 13 general hospitals had expanded healthcare services and increased the need for specialist doctors to complement the efforts of resident doctors, particularly in rural communities.
The Governor therefore appealed to members of MDCAN to consider offering their expertise in the state’s general hospitals on adjunct or part-time arrangements.
“Let me also inform you that the Commissioner for Health in the state has briefed me about the need to bring consultants into the 13 general hospitals. I am happy you are here; please volunteer, even if on adjunct or part-time basis,” he said.
Governor Nwifuru further reiterated his administration’s philosophy of prioritising the welfare of the people, stressing that government must ultimately translate into improved living conditions and better services for citizens.
Earlier, Professor Apollos Ndukuba explained that MDCAN comprises medical specialists who serve as trainers in public teaching hospitals and provide specialist healthcare services across the country’s teaching hospitals.
He said the association’s National Executive Council meeting, tagged “Salt City NEC August 2026 Meeting,” was themed “Mitigating Health Impact of Nigeria’s Rising Multidimensional Poverty: The Dilemma of the Healthcare Provider in a Strained Economy and the Demand of Work.”
Professor Ndukuba described the theme as timely and relevant to the prevailing economic and healthcare challenges in the country.
He also commended the Ebonyi State Government for the extensive infrastructure and other interventions being implemented across the state’s healthcare sector, expressing appreciation for the Governor’s efforts to improve medical facilities and services.
The planned enrolment of an additional 200,000 residents into the State Health Insurance Scheme is expected to further broaden access to healthcare and complement the administration’s ongoing investments in the state’s health sector.
