“How PHCs in Kebbi Is” – Secretary

Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed reports,

The Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has condemned an online report by MAWA Foundation, an NGO, which reportedly used a picture of a dilapidated Primary Healthcare facility purportedly of Unguwan Madi village in Jega Local Government Area to question what was spent on rural health by the state government in 2021.

During a brief interaction with TrackNews Nigeria in Birnin Kebbi, the Executive Secretary, Kebbi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Doctor Abubakar A Kaoje, said in view of the distortion of facts in the report and its tendency to misinform the public and to tarnish the good image of the government, the body has a line to clear the bone.

Dr. Kaoje maintained that in 2021, the Kebbi State government had a budgetary provision of N3,065,379,144.00 for PHC, out of which N672,968,488.93 was expended for the year.

He said “The figure of N3.03 billion quoted in the MAWA report as the State’s expenditure on PHC in 2021 is therefore, a gross mis-presentation of facts.”

Kaoje stressed that, “The Primary Healthcare facility showcased in the report is a 3rd grade facility (Health post), of which Kebbi State has over 500, in addition to the 1st grade (PHC) and 2nd grade (Health clinic) healthcare facilities. And the facility is actually in Jega, not Maiyama LGA as alleged by that report.

“The sad truth is that due to the neglect which the PHC system in the country has suffered over the years, infrastructural decay is one of the major challenges of the PHC not just in Kebbi but the entire country. It is in realisation of this fact that the NPHCDA identified PHC revitalisation as one of the pillars of its PHC reform agenda.”

He said that “In its effort towards addressing the PHC infrastructure gaps and in line with the Ward Health System of the country, which aims at providing at least one functional PHC per political ward, the Kebbi State government in collaboration with development partners has embarked on PHC revitalisation, which resulted in the renovation of 140 of the 225 ward focal PHCs in the state with an on-going renovation of 36 more facilities.”

Dr. Kaoje claimed that the Kebbi State Government had approved the full implementation of PHC Under One Roof policy and provided regular funding for PHC activities in the 21 LGAs in Kebbi State.

“This has led Kebbi State to score 82% in the PHC Under One Roof scorecard-5 of the NPHCDA in 2020.”