Rising drug prices affecting healthcare coverage in Yobe – Commissioner

The Yobe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Muhammad Lawan Gana, has said the elimination of fuel subsidies, inflation, and increasing prices of medications influenced by foreign exchange have affected the healthcare coverage in the state.

The commissioner stated this at the validation of the Yobe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (YSCHMA) operational guideline with stakeholders in Damaturu, the state capital.

He said the state government under YSCHMA is working hard to ensure 200,000 people who have been registered with the agency are covered by the financial payment mechanism, expressing concern over the skyrocketing cost of medications.

He said the clients who were registered with YSCHMA in the health facilities have been crying out over the prices of medications which are rising.

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He said the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the YSCHMA and UNICEF thought there was a need to review the operational guideline of the contributory agency for the scheme to thrive.

Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the YSCHMA, Dr Babagana Tijjani, said in the last four years of establishing the agency, over 200,000 people have been enroled in the scheme.