Body faults Kaduna govt on Primary Healthcare

Commissioner of Health and Human Services (Centre), flanged by officials

By YUSUF GOJE

A group, Kaduna State Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), has called on the Kaduna State Government to revisit the Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) said to be completed by contractors in the 255 wards of the State.

This was contained in the recommendations made at the KADMAM 1st Quarter Interactive Forum #openKDSMOH for Health Sector Performance Review held at ASAA Pyramid, Hotel, Kaduna.

Mallam Lawal Abubakar, Kaduna Chairman, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria, remarked that “of the 77 PHCs identified 100% completed in 21 LGAs, 75 were assessed”.

Furthermore, he stated that “more than half of the PHCs do not operate 24 hours per day; more than a quarter (36.0%) of the PHCs do not have the minimum recommended number of 13 rooms for provision of services; none of the PHCs have the recommended number of 19 skilled health workers”. He urged the “Government to re-visit the issue of the completed PHC in the State in order to identify those that do not meet up to the NPHCDA minimum standards, and address such gaps”.

Responding, Dr. Paul Dogo, Commissioner of Health & Human Services, said: “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Elrufai, has set up a taskforce under the leadership of the Chief of Staff to the Governor to address the challenges being faced in the upgrade and renovation of the 255 PHCs”. In addition, he stated that “the PHCs are under staffed because the government has not recruited yet, after the recruitment we are going to read the roit act, we will insist on 24 hours services”.

Speaking on Health Budget Performance Scorecard, Aisha Isiyaku, Advocacy Sub-committee Chairperson, KADMAM, said the “total health budget released as at December 2017 stood at 34%”. Also, she stated that “2017 health budget as a percent of total State budget was 11.6%.

KADMAM Chairman, Mallam Mustapha Jumare, in his address said “the health sector in Kaduna is the only one doing regular quarterly interactive forum”. KADMAM, according to him, “has three sub-committees made up of Advocacy, Knowledge Management and Evidence”.

The interactive forum, which had in attendance critical stakeholders in the health sector, came to an end with the announcement that the 2018 mid-year performance review will take place by June.

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