Stakeholders Canvass 70% Budgetary Allocation For Primary Healthcare

Stakeholders in the health sector, on Thursday, stressed the need for the federal and state governments

to give 70 per cent of annual budget to the health sector to primary healthcare sub-sector (PHC).

The stakeholders made this recommendation at the end of a one-day town hall meeting on improving primary healthcare through accountability in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The event tagged ‘Rural Health Accountability Project (RHAP)’, was organised by a Kano-based Fridabs Solacebase Communications in partnership with Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Reports and McArthur Foundation.

The stakeholders said that adequate funding will ensure prevention of diseases and improve maternal and child healthcare in the local communities across the country.

They observed that the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the country were dilapidated, obsolete and lacked basic infrastructure.

The head of department of Public Health, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malate, Prof. Oluwasogo Olalubi, who spoke on the theme, “Engaging PHC Heads in Building Stronger Work Force To Improve Health Care Service Delivery”, charged government at all levels to provide basic infrastructure and amenities that are necessary for the effective operation of PHCs across the country.

“Healthcare workers must be accountable and ready to protect necessary hospital equipment supplied to these PHCs,” he added.

Olalubi said PHCs must be upgraded with internet facilities and equipment, while emphasising the need for data managers and security experts to keep proper record of issues at PHCs.

Earlier, the publisher of Solacebase Communications, Alh. AbdulLateef Abubakar- Jos, had said that the Rural Health Accountability Project was aimed to improve healthcare delivery at the PHC level.

Abubakar-Jos, who said that participants at the programme included heads of department of PHC centres across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State, added that there must be a tripod approach in salvaging the PHCs system in Nigeria, namely, healthcare workers, government and the people.

He reiterated that effective funding on the part of the government and commitment on the part of health workers remain key to revamping the PHCs in the country.

He tasked media practitioners on investigative reportage on outreach programmes in reporting PHC activities.