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FILE: Healthcare facilities
The Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Service has commenced the revitalisation of 58 Primary Healthcare Centres in Nasarawa State to strengthen access to healthcare services across its 13 local government areas.
Speaking on Saturday at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement for improved healthcare outcomes in the Akwanga LGA, the Project Manager of IMPACT in the state, Adamu Yakubu-Ohagenyi, said the gesture was in collaboration with the state government through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency and supported by the World Bank.
Yakubu-Ohagenyi assured all that the revitalisation and upgrade of the 58 facilities across the 13 LGs will be accomplished within six weeks.
He also revealed that IMPACT and its partners are also building the capacity of health workers through training and enhanced incentives to enable it to meet its target of reducing both maternal and infant mortality, while also scaling down malaria infection threats through immunization and other interventions.
The project manager added that the project will also empower the PHCs to engage more health workers who will be mobilised to go to all the nooks and crannies of the state through outreaches, and home visits to make sure that citizens of the state access health services.
“So far, we are strengthening the health care system by making sure that health workers especially at the PHC level have the capacity to provide the much-needed services to the people as required of them by building their capacity.
“We have also bought some equipment for the basic health facilities and currently we have commenced the revitalisation and upgrading of the 58 PHCs facilities across the state,” he explained.
He, however, said despite the ongoing efforts to rid the state of diseases and childbirth complications, the citizens are reluctant to visit healthcare facilities and access medicare.
He said because of this attitude, IMPACT and its partners decided to put together a stakeholders meeting which included traditional rulers, leadership of the National Council of Women Society and religious leaders among others, to help sensitise citizens on the need to visit health facilities located near them to access medicare.
Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, Dr John Damina, said the state government had made significant progress in dealing with the malaria challenge through effective control, but noted that total eradication of the disease has been difficult.
For the maternal and child mortality rate, the permanent secretary noted that significant progress had been made through sustained efforts by the state government and partners.
He, however, said the state government and other stakeholders will continue to support the intensification of advocacy to get people to key into all healthcare programmes.
He further promised that the state government will continue to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and provide manpower, equipment and other interventions required to respond to the challenges.
