FG earmarks N260bn to revitalise healthcare centres

The Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N260 billion to revitalise Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the country.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, disclosed this while giving an account of his stewardship at the Ministerial Sectoral Briefings on the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in one year in Abuja on Friday, May 24, 2024.

Pate said the revitalisation is in line with the president’s directive, noting that the fund is currently available at the state levels through International Development Association (IDA) financing and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

“We are now providing guidelines to assist the states in the implementation of the revitalisation projects, ensuring that the resources are used prudently for their intended purposes,” the minister said.

Pate noted that 1,400 PHCs were now able to provide skilled birth attendance and funded through the BHCPF.

He added that the first tranche of N35 million had been disbursed through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to 8,300 facilities.

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The minister said a condition was put forward to the states that would access it, adding that they must comply with the fiduciary guidelines that would be provided which were in response to lapses that have been observed over the years.

“Thirty-three states have received those funds and the rest of the states are just about to complete and receive their own financing to channel through the healthcare centres,” he said.

Pate further disclosed that a plan was outlined through NPHCDA in collaboration with the states to revive 8,300 healthcare centres across the country to make them fully functional and to expand and upgrade to 17,000 PHCs over the next three years.

Pate added: “The expansion is to refurbish the centres, equip them, and make them fully functional to deliver essential services.

“To deliver essential services such as immunisation, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services, treatment of non-communicable diseases, and to facilitate referrals to secondary facilities.”

On workforce, the minister said over 2,400 health workers, doctors, nurses, and midwives were recruited in facilities with many of them in rural areas to provide essential services to Nigerians.

According to him, the issue of health workforce has been a topical one and the Federal Government has doubled the enrolment quota of medical schools, nursing schools, and other health conventional schools from 28,000 a year to 64,000 a year.

The Star