Bauchi State government has emerged the only state in the northeast geopolitical zone of the country to meet the African Union Abuja Declaration of 15 percent budget for health sector in 2020 budget, analysis by LEADERSHIP newspaper has revealed.
Faced with growing population and increasing demands in the health care sector, the north east like other regions in Nigeria are still lagging behind in meeting the Abuja declaration of April, 2001 that advocates at least 15 percent of total annual budget to improve health sector.
For instance, the insurgent ravaged Borno state that is still facing intermittent shelling from the dreaded Boko Haram sect allocates N11.6 billion, out of N134.5 billion total allocation representing 12.3 percent of its 2020 appropriation to the health care sector.
The state Governor, Babagana Zulum who said the allocation is for both capital and recurrent expenditure in the sector, added that it will be used to renovate and rehabilitate hospitals that were destroyed by the Boko Haram terrorists across the state.
He listed the hospitals to include General Hospitals, the Psychiatric Hospital and staff quarters at College of Nursing and Midwifery Maiduguri.
Zulum added that, “we will upgrade the General Hospitals of Biu and Monguno to the status of Specialist Hospitals, to improve outreach and make health services available to all; we will construct Primary Health Centres in each of the accessible wards of the Local Government Areas.”
In Yobe state, out of the over N108.414 billion total appropriation for 2020, N12.8 billion, representing 11.8 percent was allocated for both capital and recurrent expenditure in the health care sector.
The budget, tagged “budget of continuity and consolidation” featured the health ministry in third position behind ministries of works and education that got the lion share of the 2020 allocations.
Governor Buni said “we will seek to improve access to qualitative and affordable healthcare for our people by upgrading healthcare infrastructure and making sure that our hospitals, clinics, and health centres have the basic requirements to function efficiently and effectively.”
In Gombe state, our correspondent Jaiyeola Andrews reports that the state governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya during his presentation of the 2020 budget announced the sum of N12.9billion out of N130.6billion which represents 9.8 percent of the total allocation.
The state governor who lamented on the state of health facilities in Gombe described as “worrying”, the health indices especially on health and maternal care.
He said his administration, is committed to addressing the major challenges of manpower, equipment and essential drugs.
“In line with this commitment we have scale up the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP) to thirty-eight (38) additional health facilities in all the wards of Akko and Billiri Local Government Areas, with plans to scale-up in the other LGAs.
Yahaya said, “We have also secured the commitment of UNICEF to support the State in revitalizing our Primary Health Centres (PHC) in every ward in Kwami Local Government Area and strengthening Maternal and Child Health (MNCH) activities in the State, and facilitated the State’s enrolment into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund Programme as well as the payment of One Hundred Million Naira (N100,000,000.00) counterpart fund for the programme.”
Speaking with government house correspondents on the development, the executive secretary of the Bauchi state health contributory management agency, Dr Mansur Mustapha Dada who cited disturbing health indices in the state, hoped that the allocations would turn the tide.
Mansur Dada said allocation of more than 15 percent to health sector will go along way towards reducing inadequacy of funds and other challenges militating against the delivery of efficient healthcare services to the citizenry.
According to him, if the funds was released, it will ensure effective provision of healthcare services in addition to strengthen the healthcare system in the state.
The Executive Secretary said the declaration of state of emergency in the sector and the proposed health summit is an indication that Governor Bala Mohammed was determined to overcome the numerous challenges bedeviling the health sector in the state.
Mansur Dada said his Agency on its part in the first quarter of this year, will come up with free basic medical services beneficial to vulnerable groups and other people on essential needs to compliment the efforts of the present administration in the delivery of affordable healthcare services
