Ogona Anita
Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) continues to get more accolades and garlands for the work they do to increase access to quality healthcare services by Rivers residents without any form of financial hardship.
The latest of such accolades and garlands came from Trendsetters Awards, which conferred on the health insurance agency ” the working agency for the year award “, and on the Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Vetty Agala, with the ” Community Wellness and Equity Champion Award.
Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of Trendsetters Awards, Mrs. Gloria Boma Harry said that the Awards ceremony, which is the 7th in the series, has the goal to identify and celebrate those who do not just follow trends but set them.
Mrs. Harry commended the award winners, saying that the awardees are carefully considered stewards who manage resources in ways that ensure the garden is better than they found it, and that they are individuals and organisations that have built commendable systems, created jobs, and provided mentorship.
In stating the reason for conferring the working agency for 2025 on RIVCHPP, Mrs Harry said that the agency has been able to influence access to quality healthcare services, even among rural dwellers of the state, therefore increasing the health seeking behaviour of the people and helping to reduce morbidity in the state.
Responding on behalf of the management of RIVCHPP, the Head of Standards and Quality Assurance Department of RIVCHPP, Pharm. Bona Jonas Vopnu, who thanked the organisers for recognising and appreciating the work done by RIVCHPP, dedicated the award to Governor Siminialayi Fubara for making the agency functional in order to positively affect lives of Rivers residents.
Pharm. Vopnu stated that the award is a call for more commitment and dedication, promising that RIVCHPP’s team is poised to do more in the years ahead.
In also presenting the “Community Wellness and Equity Champion Award ” on Dr. Vetty Agala, Executive Secretary of RIVCHPP, Mrs. Gloria Boma Harry stated that it is the leadership and direction that Dr. Agala gives to the RIVCHPP team that has motivated the agency to even go to the hard to reach parts of the state with their health insurance packages.
Responding, an elated Dr. Agala, who expressed appreciation to the organisers for the recognition, said that community service is part of her lifestyle, especially leading the team in RIVCHPP to achieve the Governor’s mandate of ensuring that everyone who lives and works in Rivers State have access to quality health care services without financial hardship, saying the award will spur her to do more.
RIVCHPP’s Executive Secretary used the occasion to publicly thank the Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, for creating the enabling environment for RIVCHPP to perform, expressing gratitude to Governor Siminialayi Fubara for not just allowing the law establishing RIVCHPP to remain on the shelf but to be operationalized, expressing optimism that the agency will endeavour to get 1 million out of the about 9 million people in Rivers State by 2026 from the about 142,000 persons presently benefitting from RIVCHPP’s services.
Some other personalities conferred with Awards at the 7th edition of the Trendsetters Awards ceremony were the Permanent Secretary of the year award to Dr. Honour Sirawoo, Permanent Secretary of Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, and Dr. Ibituru Pepple, an academic icon.
Idanye Oruigoni
Head, Information/Public Relations unit,
RIVCHPP.
