By Asma’u Ahmad
The Kano State Government has allocated more than N13 billion in its proposed 2016 budget to the provision of quality healthcare service.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabiru Getso who disclosed this to Health Reporters on Wednesday shortly after he appeared before the State House of Assembly to defend the budget estimate for the Ministry added that, the amount allocated has tripled previous budget of the Ministry.
According to him, if the budget is approved, a lot of health programmes and projects that have impact on the health status of Kano people would be executed in 2016.
The commissioner who said that N3 billion would be spent on the provision of modern health facilities at the Murtala Muhammad General Hospital indicated that the funds allocated for the hospital was appreciable due to the high number of patients receiving treatment in the hospital.
“I can tell you that over 7,000 patients are been treated daily in the hospital he said, therefore there is the need to upgrade the structure of the hospital, provide modern facilities to enable the workers provide the needed healthcare for the entire people of the state and even beyond”.
Getso who said that, the fiscal policy has provided the means for the upgrade of primary healthcare centers across the 44 local government areas in the state to general hospitals further added that, the upgrade of the hospitals is in line with the National Health Policy to have a general hospital in each local government area in the country.
The commissioner also disclosed that more than N500 million was earmarked in the proposed budget to complete the Giginyu General Hospital in Nasarawa local government area and Paediatric Hospital at Zoo Road in Tarauni local government area.
