Kaduna Government to pay daily allowance to COVID-19 frontline health workers

TRACKING__The Kaduna State Government says it has concluded plans to offer a daily allowance to health workers in the frontline of containing the novel Coronavirus in the state.

The State Commissioner of Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, said in a statement issued to newsmen on Saturday in Kaduna, that Occupational Safety Incentive had been approved for health workers by the state government.

She also said that the government had injected additional funds to raise the insurance claims payable to health workers in case of death, infection or disability.

“The Occupational Safety Incentive, which takes effect from April 2020, is structured to enhance the pay of frontline health workers by adding three categories of compensation as follows:

“High-risk staff to receive a compensation of N15,000 per day; Medium risk staff to receive N10,000 per day and Low-risk staff to receive N5,000 per day.

“This Occupational Safety Initiative would benefit frontline health workers. Together with insurance premiums, the incentives are payable from April 2020.

“The insurance package includes death benefit of N5 million, disability benefit of N2.5 million and Covid-19 infection cover of N100,000 daily for 10 days.

“This package has been enhanced from the initial set of benefits kindly donated by Leadway Assurance.
“KDSG is paying additional premiums to increase the assured sum for death and disability to the amounts stated above.”

She said the government had also approved a monthly incentive of 10 per cent of net pay for other health workers in public hospitals and primary health centres.

“The Kaduna State Government wishes to acknowledge and commend its health workers for their dedication and professionalism in the efforts to contain and manage Covid-19.

“Malam Nasir El-Rufai has also paid a personal tribute to the medical professionals from the Ministry of Health, Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospitals who successfully treated him when he was infected by Covid-19.