Before & After GEJ
Key Economic Achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan In the Health Sector
South-South

22. Prior to President Jonathan’s administration, access to healthcare, poor healthcare equipment and quality of healthcare workers posed challenges to the health of Nigerians in the zone, and consequently life expectancy.

 The healthcare reforms of President Jonathan targeted increased access by providing the requisite infrastructure and skilled staff in primary health care centers across the region through SURE-P and MDGs Counterpart Funding Schemes. At the tertiary level, the Federal Government has upgraded facilities in most of the Federal Hospitals in the region. These interventions have helped reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy as well as the number of children dying because of vaccine preventable diseases.

23. In 2008 before President Jonathan’s administration, 70.6% of women aged between 15 and 49 in the zone reported having problems with accessing healthcare.

 But, in 2013 during President Jonathan’s administration the proportion of women that reported problems with accessing healthcare had reduced to 56.2%, a significant improvement of 14.4 percentage points. Statistics also shows that with provision of better quality of healthcare, more women (35.7%) delivered babies in government healthcare facilities in 2013 than in 2008 when it was 30%.

 Under President Jonathan’s administration, aggressive immunization campaigns resulted in 16 States including Akwa Ibom, achieving the target of 78% DPT3 coverage.

24. Before President Jonathan’s administration infant mortality rate was 84 per 1000 lives birth while under five mortality was about 138 in 2008.

 Under President Jonathan’s administration, there was significant improvement in child mortality rate between 2008 and 2013. Infant mortality reduced from 84 to 58 per 1000 live births, while under-five mortality reduced from 138 to 91 in the period.

Testimonial
My name is Mama Tano. To lose a child is one of the worst things that can happen to a woman. It is bad to happen once but to happen two times that is worst. “I no fit,” I told my husband when I realized that I was pregnant again. Every year, measles will enter our village here in Koko and by the end at least 20 children will die. My son was born in the house by the same local midwife who helped me when I delivered the first two. I was tired but I watched as she wiped his body with olive oil and cotton wool, fear just holding my heart like this. The boy was almost three months that day when as I was feeding him, I heard people talking outside our door. My younger sister staying with us came and told me that some people outside are giving measles and polio medicine to children under one year. That was how I carried my son with breast in his mouth and went outside. There were four of them carrying boxes. They told me that the government has decided that that every child no matter how far away their village must get immunized against diseases that usually kill children like measles that used to kill plenty children in our village. After they finished with my son, I carried them around to other houses that have small children like my own and I made sure that all the children take the immunization. My pikin is three years old now and there is another baby on the way. This time I am not afraid of anything.

Before & After GEJ
Key Economic Achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan In the Health Sector
SOUTH WEST

25. Prior to the President Jonathan administration, the health sector was unable to deliver high quality and accessible healthcare as it normally should. This was a major challenge with repercussions spread across the whole sector.

 Under the President Jonathan administration key reforms in the health sector were initiated with the aims of providing affordable and high quality healthcare delivery both at the primary and tertiary levels. In order to transform the health sector and enable it deliver high quality and accessible healthcare, the government embarked upon infrastructural development which involves the rehabilitation and equipping of the various health facilities across the zone. Also, the reforms have focused on the control of diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anemia, as well as the provision medical services. Some of the reforms undertaken include:
1. National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP): This is like a support for the health sector reforms: it aims to address most of the challenges in health care delivery system that have hampered progress in this sector nationwide.
2. Save One Million Lives Initiative (SOML): In line with the NSHDP, this initiative outlines a vision to save one million lives by the year 2015.
3. SURE-P Maternal and Child Health Programme: The SURE-P MCH Programme aims to provide a safety net of sort and lessen the impact of subsidy reduction on the more vulnerable sections of the population; people like women and families that have no steady source of income.
4. Midwives Service Scheme: This programme aims at reducing maternal mortality by providing access to qualified and adequate birth attendants to people who cannot afford modern health care facilities especially in the rural areas.
5. Community Based Social Health Insurance: This scheme seeks to raise the coverage of Health Insurance by reaching out to the rural communities as well as the underserved.
6. Establishment of the Centre for Disease Control: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control was established in collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Health and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on MDGs in 2012.
7. Introduction of new vaccines: The Penta-valent vaccine was introduced into the EPI schedule. This singular vaccine provides the protection against Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus (DPT), Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib).
8. Modernization of the Federal Teaching Hospitals: The Government has been upgrading the country’s tertiary health facilities to bring them up to international standards.

 President Jonathan Health Reforms have led to lower Mortality and Increased Access to Health Facilities in the South West. Key health indicators show that child mortality has fallen and there has been an increase in the number of people accessing health facilities. Statistics shows that between 2008 and 2013, post-neonatal mortality in the South West fell, while child mortality also fell between 2008 and 2013 in the South West zone. This goes to show that many more children enjoyed good health under President Jonathan’s administration and fewer children are dying.

26. Prior to President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital had no laboratory for public health quality assurance/reagent and control.

 Rehabilitation and equipping of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile -Ife
• Completion of the Public Health Quality Assurance/Reagent Control Laboratory of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, located in Yaba, Lagos.
• New cardiac unit developed and commissioned at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

 The President Jonathan administration installed state-of-the-art medical equipment in the South West, leading to ground breaking medical services. Laparoscopy, a modern and much safer style of surgery -has become a mainstay in the world of medicine. To make surgical processes safer and easier in the south-west zone, this administration has established a well-equipped laparoscopic centre at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile Ife. Similarly, a total knee and hip replacement centre at National Orthopaedic Hospitals in Igbobi, Lagos.
• Establishment of the Geriatric Centre of the University College Hospital, Ibadan
• Upgrading of the capabilities of the following centres to do renal transplantation: Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital; University College Hospital, Ibadan;
• Lagos University Teaching Hospital carried out kidney transplant in 2012.
• Full laparoscopic services at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile Ife
• Total knee and hip replacement at National Orthopaedic Hospitals in Igbobi, Lagos.

27. Prior to President Jonathan’s administration, pregnant women could not boast of getting prompt attention from medical personnel.

 This has changed under President Jonathan’s Administration. The President’s Health Reforms have led to a remarkable rise in the number of pregnant women who have been attended to by doctors. Similarly, statistics shows that the number of pregnant women receiving care from any type of skilled health worker has increased between the years 2008 and 2013.

28. That malaria fever is the highest killer of people in sub-Saharan Africa, is no longer news.

 Nonetheless, the good news today is that President Jonathan government’s concerted efforts at reducing the rates of infection and increase treatment for the disease is yielding great results. Millions of mosquito Long Lasting Insecticide Net (called mosquito net) has been strategically shared under this administration. Added to this, the effective awareness of created over the usage of mosquito nets has gone a long way to towards achieving significant reduction in the number of people infected with malaria.

29. Statistics reveals that the Children under age 5 with fever who had access to Anti-malarial drugs same or next day to combat malaria in urban areas was about 20%, 15% in rural area and 25% in South West.

 During President Jonathan’s administration, statistics reveals that in 2013 the percentage of Children under age 5 with fever who had access to Anti-malarial drugs same or next day to combat malaria in these areas grew to be about 30% in urban, 20% in rural and 40% in South West.

 The battle against malaria is not over, the country has not yet achieved total elimination of malaria but it is important to note that prompt treatment is easily available to those infected with malaria. The administration of President Jonathan has made giant strides in this regard. Statistics shows a surge in the percentage of children under age 5 who were given anti-malarial drugs same or next day after being infected, this measure will go a long way in the fight against malaria fever. The fact that there have been fewer incidences of malaria fever has important implications for absenteeism, productivity and performance. Fewer incidences of malaria means the number of days lost from work is lower and reduced absenteeism means that firms will spend less on looking for replacement workers. This will ultimately improve productivity.

Testimonial:
My name is Comfort Abebi Abegunde. I’m a native of Oyo state. I was here two or three years ago, when one woman came and delivered her baby on the floor at the general hospital because the doctors were not enough in the whole, big hospital. The woman went into labour and before the nurses could even find her a bed space, it was, Gbam! Baby on the floor! As mothers ourselves, we all used our wrapper to wrap the baby until nurses came round. But today, look at the hospitals, there are beds, there are even more doctors. Me myself, I just had a baby and I had a doctor attend to me. So I think things have changed, if we have to be honest with ourselves.

keep deceiving yourself is it d same health sector that has collapsed with the ongoing strike