He temporarily enrolled in Nigerian fitness generation company Soso Care, and after delivering a used car battery and plastic waste, he won health insurance and qualified to see a doctor.
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On his first stop this month at Anchor Hospital in Port Harcourt, the capital of oil-rich Rivers state, Ngutor was treated for a suspected abdominal ulcer and given medication.
“I didn’t come with a kobo (penny). . . and you can see they gave me the drug, so I’m very happy,” said Ngutor, a 32-year-old father of 3 who sells sweet potatoes on the street. .
Soso Care founder Nonso Opurum said he came up with the idea to help solve the dual problem of waste and lack of affordable healthcare in Nigeria. The waste, basically plastic, is sold to local or exported recycling companies.
Research firm Statista claims that only 3% of the population has health insurance in Nigeria. Most are civil servants covered by the national health insurance system, leaving most of the other two hundred million people without health insurance.
In Nigeria, other people lose money due to money scams and therefore do not accept it with insurance, considering it an expensive luxury.
Government fitness services are for many Nigerians, but they are ill-equipped, lacking medicines and equipment, contributing to a brain drain of professional staff.
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“We have been thinking about how we can use one challenge which is plastic polluting the environment, to solve another challenge, which is quality healthcare,” he told Reuters at a Saso Care centre in Port Harcourt.
Government officials responded to Reuters’ request for comment on the plan.
The delivery of a single-use battery to Saso Care gives to care for a year, while 3 kg of steel scrap and 4 to 5 kg of plastic waste can cover the fitness policy for one month.
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Soso Care in late 2019, but the coronavirus has slowed its expansion plans. So far, 7500 families are covered by the health insurance plan and Opurum said the goal is to succeed in part of Nigeria’s population after five years.
Soso Care operates in 4 cities and will expand next year, Opurum said, adding that the company is receiving requests from other African and Asian countries to reflect the project.