From Tongnaan Bawa, Jos
Plateau State Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has announced the upgrading of 105 primary healthcare centres and the expansion of health insurance coverage to about 320,000 residents as part of efforts to improve healthcare delivery across the state.
Mutfwang disclosed this while opening the 12th Plateau State Council on Health in Jos, where he identified primary healthcare, affordable insurance, improved hospital services and the welfare of health workers as priorities of his administration.
He described healthcare as a fundamental right, stressing that residents should have access to quality medical services regardless of their financial circumstances.
The governor acknowledged progress in immunisation, disease surveillance and healthcare infrastructure but identified inadequate staffing, maternal and child health challenges, rising non-communicable diseases, insecurity and funding gaps as persistent obstacles.
He pledged to strengthen primary healthcare services across the state’s 17 local government areas, expand insurance coverage for vulnerable populations and improve secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.
Mutfwang also disclosed that the Plateau State Specialist Hospital was being upgraded to serve as a teaching hospital for the College of Health Sciences at Plateau State University.
Plateau Recruits 1,300 Health Workers, Expands Insurance Scheme
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Ba’amlong, said the governor had approved the recruitment of about 1,300 health workers, including 1,150 personnel for primary healthcare facilities and 150 for the Hospitals Management Board.
Ba’amlong also announced the approval to convert primary healthcare centres in Tudun Wada and Wase into cottage hospitals. He said the Tudun Wada facility had been commissioned and was operational, while preparations were underway to commission the Wase facility.
According to the commissioner, enrolment under the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency rose from fewer than 100,000 beneficiaries in May 2023 to approximately 320,000 as of September 2026.
He said the agency had established offices in all 17 local government areas to improve access to health insurance and reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses, particularly among vulnerable residents.
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Ba’amlong further disclosed that Plateau State ranked fifth in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s second-quarter performance assessment after meeting four of the five key indicators.
On disease control, he said the state was strengthening surveillance and emergency response systems to address threats posed by Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria.
He added that no diphtheria-related deaths had been recorded in the two weeks preceding his address.
The three-day council, scheduled to end on October 22, is being held under the theme, “From Policy to People: Consolidating Quality Universal Health Coverage and Health Security on the Plateau.”
Participants are expected to review existing health policies and develop strategies to expand universal health coverage, improve healthcare delivery and strengthen public health security across Plateau State.