Post COVID-19: Northern State Govs Urged To Revive PHCs

The Executive Secretaries of Primary Healthcare Development Agencies (PHCDAs) of 19 northern states, under the umbrella of Forum of Chief Executives of Northern States PHCDAs have converged in Abuja to discuss ways to revitalise and strengthen PHCs in the Northern States.

The event which held Thursday August 17, 2023 was organised by Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) with support from Mac Arthur Foundation.

Speaking at the event, The Executive Director, (CITAD), Engr. Yunusa Zakari Yau, said PHCs were comatose before the COVID-19 outbreak, whereas state governments paid no attention to the PHCs during the pandemic, but immediately abandoned them after combating the pandemic, hence the need to make sure that facilities are put in place against any other outbreak.

He said: “The primary objective when we started was to combat the issue of vaccine resistance. We are glad that the government did everything possible to combat COVID-19 and relegate it to the background. During the pandemic, we learnt a lot of lessons, especially with regard to reforming Primary Healthcare Centers. After the pandemic, we decided that the documented lessons should not be left in the cupboard, hence the need for the team to document them to add wider value.

“There is also the need to reposition the PHCs even after COVID-19. There is a need for the support of state government to reposition PHCs. It is no longer about COVID-19, but reviving the health sector in Nigeria. Meetings like this allow us to look at challenges in the health sector and to brainstorm on the way forward to combat the challenges. The media is critical in providing the right information in order to discountenance false news, misinformation and fake news about vaccination.”

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and Chairman, Forum of Northern States PHCDAs, Dr Muhammad Addis Usman, said that, since its formation in 2016, the forum has been instrumental in the formulation of key policies in the health care sector.

“The goal of the forum is to gather members to exchange ideas on issues affecting PHCs and to make our PHCs to be visible. We are involved in the development of policies and guidelines for national development. This is because of our transparency, which has led to our inclusion in different committees,” he said.

The participants also deliberated on challenges facing the Forum, ways to mitigate the challenges and blueprint development on making the Forum functional and sustainable.

The meeting witnessed the presentation of a book “Documenting The COVID-19 Vaccination Experiences Of Northern States of Nigeria,” and a policy brief document on “Tackling Health Emergencies and Improving Vaccine Uptake: An Advisory To Actors.”