Effect of Community Based Health Insurance on the Livelihood of Rural Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Year 2016, Volume: 33 Issue: 2, 19 - 27, 26.09.2016

Raphael Olanrewaju Babatunde Oluwafemi Oyedeji Esther Omonıwa Adewale Henry Adenuga

https://doi.org/10.13002/jafag914

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Hygeia Community Based Health Insurance is an option of financing healthcare which gives opportunity to community members in Kwara state, Nigeria to have access to quality healthcare at an affordable price. Given the importance of such pre-payment scheme, this study was carried out to assess the impact of the Hygeia community based health insurance scheme on the livelihood of rural households in Kwara State. A three-stage sampling technique was used to proportionately draw 115 beneficiaries and 60 non-beneficiaries from Shonga, Lafiagi and Bacita districts of Edu local government area of the state. Descriptive statistics and the Propensity score matching econometric model were the major analytical tools employed for the study. The findings from this research showed that rural household benefitting from the Hygeia Community Based Health Insurance scheme had a higher per capita income and were more food secured compared to the non-beneficiaries of the scheme. The study recommended the establishment of community based health insurance schemes in the rural areas so as to help improve the per capita income and calorie intake of the rural farming households. The study concluded that the government should support the growth of community health insurance schemes in the rural communities by providing the enabling environment and making it more accessible to the rural populace.

Keywords

hygeia, income, insurance, rural, Health

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