Osun begins health insurance for 1,100 prison inmates

The Osun State Government has commenced the enrollment of about 1,100 inmates at the Ilesa and Ile-Ife Correctional Centres into its free health insurance scheme.

The Executive Secretary of the Osun State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Razaq Akindele, disclosed this on Tuesday in Osogbo.

 He explained that the initiative followed a request by the State Controller of Corrections, Rotimi Olalekan, who appealed for government support in addressing the health needs of inmates.

Akindele noted that Governor Ademola Adeleke had previously directed the free enrollment of pensioners into OHIS, giving them access to comprehensive healthcare.

He said over 26,000 pensioners are currently benefiting, while similar initiatives have been extended to people with disabilities, who also received life-support gadgets, as well as students in public schools.

He said: “The approval for the enrollment of inmates in Osun correctional centres stemmed from the passionate appeal made by the state Controller of Corrections during his courtesy visit to the governor. Since the inmates are also residents of Osun and will eventually be reintegrated into society, His Excellency approved their inclusion.”

According to Akindele, 450,000 pupils and students across the state’s public schools have also been screened, with 46,000 diagnosed with visual impairment. Of these, 43,000 were provided with corrective glasses free of charge.

On his part, the Osun Controller of Corrections, Olalekan, confirmed that while the initial request for support was made when the custodial centres had about 1,200 inmates, the current figure stands at 1,100 due to routine inflows and discharges.

He added that until now, the Federal Government had been solely responsible for meeting the health needs of inmates, stressing that the intervention by the state government would bring significant relief to those in custody.