After Humanitarian Times’ in-depth reporting, Borno government moves to tackle poor emergency services in PHCs.
By Zainab Yetunde Adam
As many as 60 health workers across the 27 Local Government Areas (LGA) of Borno state converged for a 2-day conference at an event centre in Maiduguri, Borno state, two weeks ago to review the state of healthcare delivery at their respective Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).
The convocation of health workers was to also design appropriate action plans to improve the performance of the health sector at the community levels.
The review comes against the backdrop of The Humanitarian Times report on how the lack of ambulance and emergency services is hampering universal health coverage in rural Borno communities.
The report highlighted the management and misappropriation of funds for emergency services across PHCs in the state despite being in dire need of it.
In what appeared to be a swift response to the report, the acting Executive Director, Borno State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Dr Lawu Mshelia, said data collated in the 2022 Mid-Year Technical Review Meeting on every PHC’s performance in terms of coordination, service delivery, supply chain, monitoring and evaluation, demand generation and financial management, will be swiftly addressed to improve health care delivery in the state.
Dr Mshelia added that concerted efforts need to be made to halt the transmission of diseases in the state.
Participants at the review meeting were divided into 6 clusters to share experiences on similar challenges hindering effective healthcare service delivery in their wards. In their submissions, participants corroborated the findings of the report, decrying the lack of resources and adequate skilled manpower to offer timely service to patients.
An immunization officer from Gubio, Lawan Isa, said the challenges he has faced in his ward are common across other facilities in the state.
Meanwhile, data presented by the BSPHCDA during the technical review indicated that only 7 out of 23 LGAs conducted the required optimal visits to health facilities in their areas in the past few months.
The data showed a decline in support to health facilities across the LGAs to identify and address challenges faced at the primary healthcare level.
Representatives of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, UNICEF, World Health Organziation and other development partners who attended the meeting jointly pledged continuous support to promote Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Borno state.
