By Abdulrahman Abdullahi
African Cleanup Initiative (ACI) and Medicard Health Management have initiated a partnership that will enable Nigerians to pay for healthcare services with recyclable waste.
The Founder of ACI, Mr Alex Akhigbe, said at the signing of the partnership on Friday, March 19, 2021 in Lagos that the partnership would enable people who could not afford medical bills to exchange waste for health.
“We entered into this partnership with Medicard so that people can have alternative plans to take care of their health by exchanging their waste for health.
“Before now, we have been doing something on education and a lot of parents in some of the communities we are working with, have been able to pay school fees of their children through waste.
“Through this new initiative, people will be able to meet their health needs through recyclable waste they generate.
“We will be taking this to some of the communities we have been working with over these years, to let them know they have a backup plan to meet their health needs,” he said.
According to Akhigbe, the health scheme will cost N495 worth of recyclable waste, monthly.
“This is like the cheapest plan to cover one’s health for a month with recyclable waste worth N495.
“The beauty about this also is that they can pay ahead of time.
“For example, if you can generate or provide one tonne of waste which is close to N20,000, that can secure your plan for over six months.
“So we will encourage them to look beyond the N495 and gather as much waste to cover them for a long period of time,” he said.
Mr Ezekiel Eseagwu, Executive Director, Medicard Nigeria, said that the partnership would enable people to afford healthcare services.
Eseagwu said the initiative, which he described as the first of its kind in the country, would bring relief to many homes that could not access healthcare.
“This is the first of its kind in the country where households and individuals can pay hospital bills through their recyclable waste.
“We are happy partnering ACI, a reputable organisation that has been doing a lot in terms of waste management and making our country and continent safe.
“The cost value for a month is N495 worth of waste, and this will bring a whole lot of relief.
“What we are doing with ACI is to ensure that with a certain level of waste, people can access healthcare services through this initiative.