PLASCHEMA STAFF ACROSS PLATEAU RECEIVE FRESH DRIVE FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

From Jos in the northern zone to Pankshin in the central zone and Shendam in the southern zone, the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA) has just completed a rare and defining engagement that spanned the entire state. 

For the first time since his appointment as Acting Director General, Dr. Kwande Solomon Dawal met with staff of the Agency across the 17 local government areas, in a capacity-building training designed to retool their knowledge and renew their commitment to universal health coverage.

The trainings, which took place in all three senatorial zones, were more than just technical sessions; they unfolded like town-hall meetings with a family reuniting under new leadership. For many staff, it was their first encounter with Dr. Kwande, a man who, in a few days of interaction, had already left a distinct impression of purpose and direction.

Standing before his team in Jos, Pankshin, and Shendam, Dr. Kwande unveiled what he called the “pillars of vision” for PLASCHEMA. He emphasized that the Agency’s work would be anchored on seven key priorities: boosting enrollment of Plateau residents into the health insurance scheme, improving quality of healthcare, strengthening local government offices as the true engines of universal health coverage, building the professional capacity of agency officers, deepening the automation of PLASCHEMA’s operational systems, prioritizing staff welfare, and fostering unity and teamwork.

“Our strength lies not only in policies and structures, but in the commitment to be each other’s keeper,” he told the staff, his tone blending both a challenge and a reassurance. “It is in our unity that we will achieve the vision of His Excellency, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, to deliver quality healthcare for every Plateau resident.”

Dr. Kwande explained that automating the system is already underway within PLASCHEMA’s operations. He pointed to the ongoing transition into digital systems that make referrals, enrollee identification, and service delivery more seamless. At the same time, he reassured staff that while systems will be modernized, the welfare of those who run them will not be neglected.

The training sessions were not one-way lectures. Directors of various departments made presentations, taking staff through the inner workings of the Agency and sparking interactive discussions. Questions were asked, ideas were shared, and field officers drew practical connections between the day’s lessons and the daily realities of working in their communities.

For staff in Shendam, the Southern phase of the training, one officer remarked that the session was “the most engaging encounter we’ve had in years,” praising the clarity with which the new Acting DG outlined the path ahead.

Across the three zones, a common sentiment emerged: this was not just a training but the beginning of a new chapter. Dr. Kwande’s repeated acknowledgment of the Governor’s trust in him set the tone, an admission that the task is weighty, but also a rallying call that every staff member must carry the responsibility of ensuring that Plateau residents can walk into any facility with confidence that care awaits them.

In a state where health challenges are as diverse as its geography, the vision sketched out during this tour of engagement is ambitious. Yet, if the energy witnessed across the three senatorial zones is anything to go by, PLASCHEMA under Dr. Kwande is positioning itself as more than an Agency; it is becoming a movement towards universal health coverage in Plateau State.