Excessive demands for health services continue to grow as population grows. Bauchi State, with an estimated 7 million people has 1,108 PHCs across the 322 wards in the state.
Not all political wards however have functional hospitals to provide decent healthcare services to the people. This necessitates people to travel far distances in search of medical attention when they fall sick or had an accident.
As a result, families were throne to mourn their loved that ones vanished to the unseen world because of treatable and avoidable health complications.
The Governor Bala Mohammed administration has shown greater commitment to change the situation. This resolve has informed the decision of the administration to award contracts worth millions of naira for the construction and renovation of Primary Health Care facilities across the 20 LGs of the state aimed at complimenting the grossly inadequate existing Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in the State.
The idea, according to the administration is to reduce burden on already saturated, poorly equipped and stocked PHCs in the state.
The administration says the saturated and pressure ridden facilities that keep accommodating more than they could cater for at a time have to be put in better shape for the interest of the State and its teaming population.
The frustratingly worrying situation equally nerve-wrecks the governor, who, in the early hours of his administration staged some visitations to primary healthcare centers to assess the agonies of patients and health workers.
The health workers persistently argue that demand is created, but facilities to accommodate the demand continue to shrink in number and quality.
The decision to award contracts for building and renovating some PHCs according to Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency is to reduce pressure on the existing facilities which lack adequate consumables and commodities to cater for the needs of their patients.
He said the administration of Senator Bala Mohammed upon assumption of office has shown commitment to reverse negative trends in the health sector. “For instance, the governor awarded N29,244,259,000 million for the construction of new P H C at Dorawar Dillalai area through the state Primary Health Care Agency”, Dr. Rilwanu argued.
The Chairman said the state government in collaboration with The Challenge Initiative, TCI, which is funded by Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation, renovated and upgraded 26 Childbirth Spacing Units in Bauchi, Toro, Jama’are, Ningi, Zaki, Katagum and Shira LGs of the state.
The administration within one year had equally synergized EU-UNICEF in renovating 41 PHC facilities across 20 LGs of the state. Going forward, Dr. Rilwanu said the state is targeting to upgrade additional 107 healthcare centers with support from the European Union.
He said the state government had also approved the construction of 12 health care centers “using 72 hour make over, where the facilities are renovated and equipped with modern equipment within just 72 hours.”
In its effort to reposition the state in line with Bala’s vision of using accurate information for planning and decision making, Dr. Rilwanu said the agency has printed data tools at the cost of 33 Million naira “which we use to generate health data that would enable the state have control of health information, and by extension be able to plan in conformity with information available at its disposal”, he insisted.
In line with the governor’s community engagement strategies, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed said the administration has succeeded in engaging Northern Traditional Leaders Committee (NTLC), Local Governments’ Health Educators and Facilitators at a one day review meeting; “to look at health indices and be able to formulate ideas as to how we could collectively participate in addressing them.”
“With that approach, we were able to organized the 2019 Maternal and Newborn Child Health Week where over 1.4 Million under 5 children and three hundred thousand women were targeted with free medical outreach”, Rilwanu continues.
He said the health agency under his watch uses the traditional and religious leaders to support its strides to conduct measles and meningitis campaign across the 20 LGs in the state during the period under review.
“The agency within one year has purchased and distributed midwifery kits worth millions of naira to the 126 newly graduated basic and community midwives after they have undergone rigorous orientation exercises.
“You may wish to know that Bauchi State is facing shortages of health workers, the governor’s idea is not only to employ additional health workers, but adequately qualified and wellmotivated health workers that could compete anywhere”, he added.
The administration according to Rilwanu collaborated with Plan International to develop operational guidelines for PHCs in the state, “so that the newly health personnel that are graduated and injected into the system could perform their task within the scope of the operational guidelines—and that will give them the added advantage to learn and perform well.”
“Quality and serene environment is also part of the health care package; in line with that, we have collaboration with Fidelity Bank to interlock premises, reticulate water system, and renovate ablution ground in addition to constructing VIP toilets”, he hinted.
The agency during the one year period according to Rilwanu had also procured DRF drugs and distributed them to three LGs of, Kirfi, Darazo, and Jama’are.
In the areas of human development and capacity building, the agency says 57 of its officers participated in a high level training and capacity building in Kano where they successfully gained certificates and cascaded the skills to 323 health facilities across the state; “where about 1,292 health care workers were trained.”
The agency said orientation and sensitization of 60 teams which include LG Directors, Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, PHC MDs and other relevant frontline health workers were conducted to better their works.
To ensure that the agency remains transparent in the conduct of its activities, Rilwanu said the Bala Mohammed led administration insisted that frontline health workers and financial health managers must be trained on financial management processes “as a new approach to ensure budget control and improvement towards shifting from the culture of budget repetition”, which he says often result to poor performance.
“This administration is donor friendly; to avoid the mistake of the past where development partners lack confidence in our systems and approaches, his Excellency the governor always insists that we must do things to international best practices, that will give us additional advantage to enjoy some of the support we get from them because we can’t do it alone,” Rilwanu said.
The Bala led administration according to Rilwanu was able to pay its counterpart funding amounting to three hundred and thirty three million naira (N333,000,000) “as against what was obtainable in the past were donors have to leave because counterparts funding were not settled.”
He said the agency’s resolve to implement strategies in line with the administration’s vision to bolster the confidence of donors motivated it to conduct end of year review between Bauchi State government and Development Partners where a third reviewed MoU addendum for the year 2020 on “the integrated primary health care measures targeted at effective health promotion in the state was signed.
“The state through its taskforce on health held a review meeting to discuss the definitive work plan for implementation. “The meeting discusses and reviewed the status of various leakages and obstacles towards effective health implementation”, he opined.
On the aspect of family planning, Rilwanu said the agency has printed plying cards worth N7,500,000 for distribution, which he said will position the state to continue to address negative socio-cultural beliefs hindering the campaign on child birth spacing.
He said through media campaigns, the agency has achieved tremendous success on child birth spacing, campaign on measles and meningitis in the state.
Dr. Rilwanu assured that the health agency under his watch will continue to explore opportunities provided by the Bala Mohammed’s led administration to consolidate the health sector in the state, which he says was still at its lowest ebb.
