By Asma’u Ahmad
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said it revitalised and renovated 95 of the 110 earmarked Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities under Rapid Response initiatives and PHC revitalisation programme.
The agency’s Executive Director, Dr Faisal Shuaib, told newsmen in Abuja that the PHC Revitalization and Renovation programme was inaugurated by President Muhammad Buhari.
Dr Shuaib said one of the top priorities of the agency was to provide technical support to state governments to facilitate smooth implementation of the PHC programme.
Dr. Faisal Shuaib
He added that beyond revitalisation of PHC facilities, NPHCDA was working with key stakeholders to review the general system of managing PHC centres across the country.
He explained that the new system of management was to ensure adequate distribution of human resources, equipment, availability of drugs, power, water and other things with a view to improving efficiency and
quality of PHC services.
He said: “The policy of PHC under one roof is to promote the consolidation of management of PHC under state primary health care development agencies for quality PHC services.
“Consolidating the PHC system which aims to have one management system and one plan is one of my major thrust since assumption of office as Executive Director in January this year.
“We have been able to ensure that states that have not implemented PHC under one roof complied and implemented the programme. As at today, only Bayelsa is yet to pass the bill for the establishment of State Primary Health Development Agency.
Shuaib said the agency was working to change the image and culture of work at NPHCDA by ensuring proper accountability, strengthen routine immunisation and the supply chain.
The executive director, who stressed the need for quality f PHC system in the country, stressed that the PHC system in Nigeria was still sub-optimal.
He added that “it is easy to say we have come a long way from where we are in the past. “But in terms of international standard within African countries, PHC services do not match our abilities as a nation and it does not match the kind of resources we have in the country.”
President Buhari inaugurated the PHCs revitalisation programme, aimed at achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), on January 10, 2017. The programme is a cardinal agenda of the Buhari administration to revive 10,000 PHCs nationwide to scale up primary healthcare delivery at the grassroots.
