The Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency has expanded its healthcare insurance coverage to vulnerable groups, including inmates in correctional centres, people living with HIV, and hypertensive patients across the state.
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Rahila Aliyu-Mukhtar, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday, May 22, 2026, in Kano.
Aliyu-Mukhtar said more than 6,000 vulnerable hypertensive patients had been enrolled in the state’s healthcare insurance scheme to enable them access medications and medical investigations they would ordinarily be unable to afford.
According to her, the intervention has significantly contributed to reducing complications associated with hypertension in Kano State.
“We received a nationally generated report indicating that Kano State has reduced complications arising from hypertension.
“This can be attributed to the hypertensive patients we enrolled under the scheme,” she said.
The executive secretary also revealed that over 6,000 people living with HIV had been enrolled in the programme.
She explained that although antiretroviral drugs are largely provided through donor support, beneficiaries still require access to healthcare services for other illnesses such as malaria, typhoid, diabetes, and hypertension.
Aliyu-Mukhtar further disclosed that the agency had concluded plans to enroll 6,000 tuberculosis patients under its vulnerable group programme.
“We realised that TB patients also need support beyond their TB medications because secondary health conditions may arise,” she said.
She added that all inmates in correctional centres across Kano State had also been enrolled into the health insurance scheme, describing it as the first initiative of its kind in Nigeria.
According to her, the initiative earned the Kano State Government commendation from the Controller-General of Corrections.
Aliyu-Mukhtar noted that several states had contacted the agency to study Kano’s implementation model with a view to replicating it.
She reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenses and improving access to quality healthcare services for vulnerable residents across the state.
(NAN)
