……..in four years
Biodun Esan, Ilorin
Kwara State has recorded over 220% increase in the number of deliveries between 2020 and 2023 as pregnant women in the state preferred government-owned Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) in the state for delivery.
Executive Secretary of the Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu, who briefed the State Executive Council in Ilorin on Friday, said over 1.3 million Kwarans attended PHCs in each of the last four years.
A statement by Hon. Bola Olukoju, Commissioner for Communications, said there had been a huge reduction from 1,508 to 570 (62.2%) pregnant women reported with severe anaemia.
“Kwara State emerged as the overall best state in the country with over 117 per cent coverage of children aged 9-14 years during the HPV vaccination this year.
“In January 2023, Kwara was awarded the overall best in supplemental polio outbreak response (OBR) in the country,” she added.
Dr Elelu said that while the government must work harder to bridge the gaps in human resources and infrastructural needs in the sub-sector, it has posted sterling successes that set the administration apart from its predecessors.
“The subsector had been plagued by the general collapse of infrastructure, non-payment of counterpart funds and withdrawal of development partners, poor demand for primary health care services, lack of coordination between the state and local government areas, and poor data quality and availability,” she said.
She said the current administration has resolved most of the challenges, but it can do more, especially in the areas of infrastructure and human resources for health.
Elelu commended the recent recruitment exercise to bridge the identified gap and the approval of the 70,000 minimum wage by Kwara State.
“We have made significant strides, regardless. For instance, 31 PHCs have been completely renovated by the state with several others at different stages of renovation.
“We now have at least one functional PHC in all the 193 wards as against previously when seven wards didn’t have a PHC.
“In addition, five PHCs are currently undergoing renovation with funds from the PHC leadership challenge award won by the state in 2023.
“Additionally, 111 PHCs are going to be renovated under the BHCPF and World Bank PHC Revitalization programme. There has also been provision of solar-powered central cold stores in the 16 LGAs to improve cold chain capacity for vaccination.
“Furthermore, a total of 79 boreholes have been sunk in the PHCs in the state, while 79 outreach vans and 89 motorcycles have been purchased to increase PHC services delivery to our hard-to-reach settlements. 16 ambulances were also deployed to improve emergency care at the LGA.” Dr Elelu said.
She said the outcomes have been positively huge, with Kwara having one of the highest ante-natal care coverage in Nigeria.
“In 2023, a total of 620,925 pregnant women attended ANC, compared to 94,276 pregnant women in 2020 (DHIS2),” she added.
She said there have also been high-quality supplemental immunization campaigns such that the state has been consistently green in all WHO-conducted Lot Quality Assurance surveys (LQAs) in the last two years, with over 1.5m children vaccinated in each round.
Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, SSA Community Development, also told the council how the administration has mobilised community-based organizations for grassroots empowerment and development.
“These interventions between January 2024 and now included the installation of 60 solar-powered poles in different parts of the state and the distribution of social protection materials worth billions of naira.
“The government distributed 42,000 bags of fertilisers to 11,000 farmers, 18,000 bags of maize and sorghum to 3,000 households, construction of 20 smart toilets to curb open defecation, sinking of 20 boreholes to selected settlements, and distribution of grants to 498 communities across the state.
“The state had recently held a CBO Summit, which brought together 901 organisations with a focus on the best practices to advance grassroots development,” Olohungbebe said.
Cabinet members took turns to debate the presentations, including the question of making sure that the current local government autonomy serves the best interest of workers and the people at the grassroots.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq commended the presentations and urged
council members to submit to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government their proposals on different interventions that could further drive good governance and citizen engagement.
He recalled that all the infrastructural interventions at the PHCs and basic schools were by the state government as the local councils have fallen short in that regard for decades for lack of funds.
AbdulRazaq said the government is committed to making more investments to strengthen infrastructure and human resources in the basic health sector.
END
