Despite the national drive for Universal Health coverage (UHC) which ensures access to affordable and quality health care, over eighty percent of Primary Health Care facilities are non-functional in Niger State, the state government disclosed on Wednesday.
The permanent secretary, Niger State ministry of health, Makusidi Mohamad, speaking at a two-day retreat on Primary Health Care in Abuja, said the state had over 1,400 Primary Health Care facilities , but noted that less than 20 percent are functional.
Mohamad decried that Nigeria which clocked 59 years of independence still records very bad health indices because of the long-neglect and poor handling of Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) in the country.
He however disclosed that as part of efforts to tackle the problem, the state government had developed a state strategic development plan and a health policy document called “the Niger health 1.0” to address the challenges in primary health care delivery.
The Permanent Secretary added that the state government was also working assiduously and passionate to revitalise or construct at least one PHC per ward. According to him, about 40 have so far been remodelled to meet the national standard, and 250 midwives recruited.
“We have identified that in the 274 wards there should be one functional PHC, we have also accessed the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). Revitalization started two years ago and there are different parameters to this in terms of human resource, equipment, structural remodelling or renovation.
“Virtually, we have already disbursed the 274 facilities with basic minimal equipment and almost 40 have been renovated and remodelled to meet up to the national standard of PHC. In terms of human resource, recruitment has also been done; we have recruited 250 Midwives and posted them.”
Ahmed Ketso, deputy governor of the state, also speaking at the retreat, explained that the Niger Health 1.0 document would guide the delivery of quality health care. He said the retreat of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency Management Board was the first if its kind and a step in making Niger state a model for PHCs for other states to copy.
He said the only way to avoid people going to general hospitals, which according to him, are being overstretched, was to ensure they can access treatment at the primary level. He therefore disclosed that the state government was working to ensure sustainable finance to recruit and pay health personnel.
The chairman, Association for the advancement of family planning, Ejike Orji, on his part stressed that PHCs are the bedrock of making sure that every Nigerian has good health. He described PHC as a catalytic and an investment fund.
“If the primary health care under one roof is taking seriously, this means one PHC reactivated per political ward, the outcome will be tremendous; it will crash down poor health indicators,” he said.
Mohammed Khalilu, Senior Adviser to the Niger State government on PHC system strengthening also pointed out that PHCs are the closest to the people and the first port of call. He said Nigerians preferred secondary and tertiary health facilities because they feel the PHCs are not good enough.
According to him, the only way to make PHCs attractive for Nigerians was to “ensure that those critical elements that make a functional health care attractive, quality, friendly, human resources of the right number, right skill and right attitude, are there. So, when they get a prescription they don’t have to go to the chemist. He said the infrastructure must also be right, so that when they look at the building, it’s more beautiful than their homes so they will even want to sleep in the hospitals.
“When all these critical elements are in place, people will patronise PHCs.”
Khalilu said the document, which he described as a show of commitment on the part of the state government, would achieve tremendous success because it spoke to the priorities of the state, and took into cognisance local context, local realities, local capacities, resources available and challenges peculiar to Niger state with regards to Primary Health Care delivery.
