Ondo’s Quiet Health Shake-Up: ODCHC’s Drive Toward A Statewide Safety Net
By Folashade Oladeinde
When the Ondo State Contributory Health Commission (ODCHC) in 2019 began expanding its presence across markets, town halls, and rural communities, the initiative did not arrive with the fanfare one might expect. Instead, it unfolded quietly, with people gathering in clusters, armed with fliers and megaphones, with convincing messages, social media presence, and the steady appearance of orange-branded enrolment desks across the state. Yet within this calm and consistent rollout is one of the most ambitious social policies in Ondo’s recent history: a bid to build a dependable, statewide health safety net that ensures all residents have access to affordable and quality healthcare.What began as routine outreach is fast becoming a new face of health insurance in Ondo State, one gradually reshaping service delivery and moving the state closer to Universal Health Coverage.
On February 6, 2018, the law establishing the Ondo State Contributory Health Commission (ODCHC) was signed into law with the mandate to ensure that all residents within the state, irrespective of religion or tribe, have insurance cover in line with the global Universal Health Coverage drive, and also to supervise and coordinate all health insurance activities in the state.
The Commission commenced operation in June 2019, and by December of the same year, access to care began with the launch of the Abiyamo Maternal and Child Health Insurance Scheme (Abiyamo Scheme), one of the three schemes under ODCHS.
Abiyamo Scheme, totally funded by the state government, was designed to tackle high mortality rates among pregnant women and children under the age of five. As of 2025, the Abiyamo Scheme has 9 facilities strategically located in the three senatorial zones of the state to provide accessible health care to the target population, thereby ensuring a reduction in mortality rates in the state. General Hospital Owo and the State Specialist Hospital Ikare-Akoko are the two designated facilities in the Northern Senatorial District of the state. For the Central Senatorial District, the State Specialist Hospital, Oke-Aro Akure, FUTA Teaching Hospital (Formerly UNIMEDTHC Akure), the State Specialist Hospital Ondo and the UNIMEDTHC Laje, Ondo are the designated facilities, while the Southern District has the General Hospital Ore, the State Specialist Hospital Okitipupa and the General Hospital Igbokoda.
Since the launch of the Abiyamo Scheme, beneficiaries have been singing praises of the state government for what many describe as a “lifeline intervention” for mothers and children under 5yrs. Across antenatal clinics, labour rooms and maternity wards, women speak of the relief that comes with receiving essential care at no cost. For mothers in communities, the Scheme has eased the financial pressure of childbirth and has restored confidence in the public health system with the choice of safer facility-based deliveries.
The Abiyamo Scheme has continued to reshape maternal health outcomes in Ondo State in ways that are both measurable and deeply felt across communities. The aim is to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rate to zero, however, the current available data shows a reduction to 0.08% mortality and neonatal mortality rate of 0.02% under the scheme, the initiative is quietly proving its worth. Currently, over 20,157 deliveries have been recorded under the scheme, reflecting growing trust in facility-based care. Of these births, 489 were twins, 11 were triplets, 2 were quadruplets, and the rest were single deliveries.More than 14,733 women delivered through spontaneous vertex delivery (normal delivery), showing increasing confidence for normal delivery in equipped health facilities. Meanwhile, 5,501 Caesarean sections were successfully carried out, ensuring that women facing complications received timely surgical intervention. Together, these figures illustrate a system that is not only expanding access to care but steadily lifting the standards of maternal and newborn care across the state, one safe delivery at a time.
By February 2021, the state deepened its commitment to accessible healthcare with the inauguration of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Programme (BHCPFP), code-named “Ilera Loro Scheme,” a landmark scheme jointly financed by the federal and state governments to strengthen primary healthcare delivery and accelerate Ondo State’s journey toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Unlike contributory insurance models, BHCPFP stands out for one crucial reason: it is entirely non-contributory for beneficiaries, just like the Abiyamo Scheme. The programme is funded through 1% of the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), as mandated by the National Health Act of 2014, and further supported by donor agencies and development partners. To keep the system sustainable, states are required to provide a 25% counterpart contribution before accessing the funds, a mechanism designed to ensure shared responsibility and uninterrupted service delivery. Enrollment began in April 2021 while access to care started in October and since then, Ilera-Loro Scheme has positioned the state among those ensuring that the poor and vulnerable can access essential health services without financial or social obstacles. Medical care under BHCPFP is available across the 203 wards in the state’s 18 local government areas, delivered through accredited and well equipped Primary Healthcare Centres to handle the unique needs of the beneficiaries.
The scheme deliberately targets residents who are most at risk of being left behind in the health system: indigent pregnant women, children under 5 years old. Persons with Disabilities, orphans and vulnerable children, persons living with sickle cell disease, women of reproductive age who cannot afford care, elderly citizens and widows or widowers lacking family or financial support. By identifying these groups, the BHCPFP directly confronts long-standing equity gaps in access to healthcare.Beyond primary-level services, the programme also runs on an active referral system. All accredited secondary and tertiary health facilities across the 18 LGAs in the State are mandated to receive BHCPFP beneficiaries when higher-level care is needed and ensure continuity, timeliness, and dignity in treatment.
By June 2025, enrolment under the BHCPFP in Ondo State had reached 82,669 beneficiaries, offering a clear snapshot of the scheme’s reach and impact. Children under five form the largest group with 22,265 enrollees, followed by 17,373 women of reproductive age and 7,220 pregnant women, including 8,827 elderly persons, 7,600 widows and widowers were captured, alongside 2,885 poor and vulnerable individuals, 203 orphans, and 290 inmates who often face structural barriers to care. For medically vulnerable groups, 2,536 persons with disabilities and 456 persons living with sickle cell disease were cared for with additional 13,014 residents fell under the “others” category, demonstrating the progamme’s ability to accommodate diverse community needs. Altogether, the enrolment pattern shows a scheme that is expanding coverage strategically while prioritizing the poor and the vulnerable, the Scheme ensures that no one is left behind.
Complementing these two foundational Schemes is the Orange Health Insurance Scheme (ORANGHIS) which was introduced in September 2022 for the formal sector. Service delivery commenced in December of same year. ORANGHIS was created to ease access to quality care for public servants who for years, bore the full burden of medical expenses out-of-pocket. This scheme covers the principal, spouse and at most four biological or legally adopted children under 18 years of age. Unlike the non-contributory BHCPFP and the Abiyamo Scheme, ORANGHIS operates on a contributory model with a clear value proposition: a small, predictable contribution today prevents catastrophic health spending tomorrow. As of November 2025, there are 106,499 enrollees, with 40,165 principal applicants and 65,334 dependents.Under the arrangement, 3% of each worker’s gross salary is earmarked as a monthly premium, with 1.2% paid by the employee, while 1.8%, representing 60% of the total premium, is borne by the state government.
The scheme also has an informal sector arm presently with 239 enrollees. This sector is designed to accommodate non-public servants such as artisans, traders, pensioners, farmers and other residents outside the public workforce. This category is likewise contributory: individuals below 59 years pay ₦18,000 annually, those who are 60 years and above pay ₦36,000, while the family plan is ₦90,000 per annum; it covers the principal, the spouse, and up to four biological or legally adopted children under 18 years of age. Through this dual structure, ORANGHIS broadens financial risk protection to both salaried workers and everyday residents, ensuring that income level or employment type no longer determines access to essential health services.
ODCHC has set a target to reach one million enrollees under ORANGHIS by 2027. This confidence rises from aggressive and visible enrolment drives and medical outreaches across the communities with positive feedback from beneficiaries. Not to mention the sustained backing from the government and investments in facility revitalization and public messaging, signaling a whole-of-government approach.For Ondo residents, the promise is straightforward and profound: fewer families pushed into poverty by illness, more predictable spending on health and better primary care in neighborhoods that have long been neglected.ODCHC is repositioning healthcare not as a privilege but as a shared right and responsibility, protecting all residents, reshaping service delivery, and moving Ondo State closer to Universal Health Coverage.
Folashade Oladeinde Head, Media Unit
