By Asmau Ahmad
The Niger State Government said it would build 70 new Primary Healthcare Centres across the state in 2016 under its Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) programme for effective service delivery.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello announced this when he inaugurated one of the four MTN Foundation Maternal Ward Support Projects in Lapai Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the centres would form the first phase of the 274 centres that would offer 24 hours comprehensive medical service in each of the wards in the state.
Governor Bello added that “In the next one year, at least 70 PHCOUR service facilities will be rolled out across the state through massive renovation, equipping and manpower improvement.”
He noted that the neglect of such centres over the years informed the resolve of the present administration to prioritise good health care delivery to reduce maternal and childhood mortality in the state.
The governor said 500 people had benefited from free eye surgery and general surgery in order to meet the needs of quality primary health care delivery aimed at reaching 2,500 people across the state.
The Niger Government was committed to providing quality and affordable health care, as well as improved infrastructure in the health sector in the state.
He said the government would continue to partner with local and international health service providers to deliver quality health care to the people.
In his speech, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibrin, said the state’s Ministry of Health had been in mutual beneficial partnership with the MTN Foundation in the last three years.
He said that the general hospitals in Lapai, New Bussa, Mokwa and Suleja were currently benefiting from the Foundation’s Maternal Ward Support Project in the state.
Earlier, the Chairman, MTN Foundation, Mr. Julius Adeluyi, said that the project was aimed at reducing infant and maternal mortality in the country, adding that six states across the geo-political zones were beneficiaries.
Represented by a Director of the Foundation, Alhaji Muhammadu Liman, Adeluyi said the organisation would partner with government and other individuals to contribute positively to the development of the state.
