The project manager, Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Service (IMPACT) in Nasarawa State, Adamu Yakubu-Ohagenyi, has disclosed that 58 primary healthcare facilities are currently being revitalised to strengthen access to healthcare services in the state.
He said the gesture was in collaboration with the state government through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency and supported by the World Bank.
He spoke at a one-day IMPACT project stakeholders’ engagement for improved health care outcome in Akwanga local government area of the state.
Mr. Yakubu-Ohagenyi, said the revitalisation and upgrade of the 58 facilities across the 13 local government areas of the state would be accomplished within six weeks.
He also revealed that the IMPACT and partners were building the capacity of health workers through training and enhanced incentives to enable it meet its target of reducing both maternal and infant mortality while also scaling down malaria infection threat through immunisation and other interventions.
The project manager added that IMPACT would also empower the PHCs to engage more health workers who would be moblise to go to all parts of the state through outreaches and home visits to make sure that people of the state access health services.
“So far, we are strengthening the health care system by making sure that health workers, especially at 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 said.
He, however, said despite the ongoing efforts to rid the state of diseases and child birth complications, the people were reluctant to visit healthcare facilities and access medicare.
He said because of this attitude, IMPACT and partners decided to put together a stakeholders meeting which include 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.
The permanent secretary in the ministry of health, Dr. John Ali Damian, 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 significant progress has also been made through sustained efforts by the state government and partners.
He said the state government and other stakeholders would continue to support intensification of advocacy to get people to key into all healthcare programmes.
He promised that the state government would continue to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, provide manpower, equipment and other interventions required to respond to the challenges.
