Ondo State government, on Wednesday, said it had spent about ₦500 million on medical assistance to indigent persons in the last three years. Apart from this, government also distributed ₦67million to no fewer than 65 persons under the Medical assistance scheme aimed at providing succour for those that are not able to pay for their medical requirements.
The Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, said at the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries that the money was part of the N200 million earmarked for medical assistance in the 2012 budget. According to him, the state government has spent a huge amount on the programme in order to lift the burden off the people. He said the medical assistance scheme was a component of the health package of the government designed to make qualitative health care delivery available to the people. The commissioner explained further that beneficiaries were chosen from hundreds of applications received from the public. He said the beneficiaries were selected after considering the referral letters from their hospitals and the bills sent by the hospitals where they are to receive treatment. He disclosed that government had commenced the process of paying another batch of beneficiaries of the medical assistance scheme.
Adeyanju further said that some of the beneficiaries were selected from the free festival of surgery embarked upon by government to give free surgery to the people.
