‘60m Nigerians to access quality healthcare services in two years’

THE Federal Government plans to build 10,000 primary health centres in 774 local government areas to make medical care available to more Nigerians and decongest tertiary health institutions, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said yesterday.

He added that over 60 million indigent citizens would to be given access to quality healthcare delivery within the next two years under the health agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The minister spoke at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti (FETHI), where he inaugurated 12 projects executed and completed by its Chief Medical Director, Dr. Majekodunmi Ayodele.

Adewole explained that Buhari was determined to alleviate the citizens’ sufferings in the area of quality healthcare by providing more facilities at both the primary and secondary health institutions.


The minister decried a situation in which minor health problems expected to be treated at primary and secondary health centres were taken to teaching hospitals, stressing that government planned to decongest tertiary health institutions by 70 per cent.

Adewole said: “The tertiary institutions are not meant to treat malaria or skin rashes, but to attend to critical issues.

“We are determined to take away over 70 per cent of patients from the teaching hospitals, but the heads of tertiary institutions must find a way to relate freely with this cadre for effective healthcare delivery.

“We won’t abandon that cadre so that the sequence of referral could be protected.”

Adewole condemned incessant strikes by doctors in federal health institutions, saying the Federal Government would no longer tolerate “coups” against chief medical directors (CMDs).

He said: “It is unfortunate that our national hospitals are better known for strikes, rather than services.

“The human factor is the most important; we should learn to put services above all other considerations in our agitations as medical practitioners because some of the cases I have handled in recent time were more of how to get more pay and not about commitment.

“Those engaging in the fuelling of crises in federal health institutions are those fighting to replace the present occupiers of the seats of CMDs. But I want to warn that they should wait for their time.”

Adewole lauded the FETHI boss for the success he had recorded and expressed satisfaction with the partnership and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Afe Babalola University (ABUAD).

Ayodele, who assured the agitated workers that all their dues would be paid, appealed to the Ministry of Health to grant the request for the payment of take off grants to the hospital as a former medical centre and for its new status as a teaching hospital.

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, who was represented by the House of Assembly Speaker, Kola Oluwawole and Chief Afe Babalola, urged the FETHI authorities to find ways of ensuring industrial harmony in the hospital.

They appealed to the doctors, nurses and other paramedical workers to search their conscience and refrain from agitating for pay, even while on strike, describing the scenario as morally wrong.

Comments
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Change is real... wen it comes nobody can fight it.

Noted... I hope it works out.

We need action... Not mere talk...

Omotayor123:
Noted... I hope it works out.

It will work!

Assuming it costs between 10 and 25 million to set up one, den multiply dat by 10,000. Dats like 25 billion plus 1 billion miscellaneous. Dats like 260 billion.

Now the question is wia will the ministry of health get dis money from?

Community Health Extension workers Don get job brekete

That will be very good, so far it's nt one of those lies we used to hear of recent.

The Federal government has no business building primary health care centres. Have they finished making Federal tertiary hospitals standard (which by the constitution is their statutory area). Let us at least have Federal centres of excellence in the country not many mediocre centres. Name one Federal teaching hospital or Federal Medical centre or specialits hospital that is world class, then i will pardon them for leaving their own job to handle that of governors and local government chairmen. After they build these health centres, under which level of government are the staff to be employed, will they now expect the state or local governments to bear the running cost. Who pays the salaries or will they now want to statr deducting at source from local government budgets like they do with primary educatikn. Have those ones equipped and staffed the already existing health centres littered all over thecountry. Let them Federal ministry of health, stick to its duties of policy formation, monitoring the health sector and then running the best teaching hospitals it possibly can. A man whose house is on fire doesn't leave it and chase rats in the bushes.

Misplacement of priority. What happens to all the ones built before now ? We all know: Underequipped, understaffed, dilapidated, underfunded, forsaken, useless

As I always say...let us quit policies of villagization and embrace global development and integration.

Do good for good to come your way

rudebouy:
Assuming costs between 10 and 25 million to set up one, den multiply dat by 10,000. Dats like 25 billion plus 1 billion miscellaneous. Dats like 26 billion.

I think its doable but dem go gree do am?

You need to do your calculations again. N25m X 10,000 = N250bn. That is way above the Capital budget for Health.
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I personally think we should get beyond throwing arbitrary figures in the media just to provide a false sense of hope. Ministers should also be pushed to tell us how they intend to fund these lofty plans.

allycat:
The Federal government has no business building primary health care centres. Have they finished making Federal tertiary hospitals standard (which by the constitution is their statutory area). Let us at least have Federal centres of excellence in the country not many mediocre centres. Name one Federal teaching hospital or Federal Medical centre or specialits hospital that is world class, then i will pardon them for leaving their own job to handle that of governors and local government chairmen. After they build these health centres, under which level of government are the staff to be employed, will they now expect the state or local governments to bear the running cost. Who pays the salaries or will they now want to statr deducting at source from local government budgets like they do with primary educatikn. Have those ones equipped and staffed the already existing health centres littered all over thecountry. Let them Federal ministry of health, stick to its duties of policy formation, monitoring the health sector and then running the best teaching hospitals it possibly can. A man whose house is on fire doesn't leave it and chase rats in the bushes.

And do u tink local govt is still functioning in Nigeria many govs are not conducting LGA election and even those DAT conduct it do selection not election

Please we do not want ordinary buildings, Mr. minister.


Let it have basic instruments and equipments, drugs and personnel to make it functional at an acceptable standard.

All these targets are too high. They should target 3 health center per LGC. Then fund and equip them to standard b4 proceeding with more construction.

Bevista:
You need to do your calculations again. N25m X 10,000 = N250bn. That is way above the Capital budget for Health.
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I personally think we should get beyond throwing arbitrary figures in the media just to provide a false sense of hope. Ministers should also be pushed to tell us how they intend to fund these lofty plans.

Oh! Tanx a lot bro. I did some very poor calculations dia. I forgot the other zero in front.

Ur sure on point.

rhidollah:
And do u tink local govt is still functioning in Nigeria many govs are not conducting LGA election and even those DAT conduct it do selection not election

Let them fix the teaching hospitals that is their primary business, equip them to the teeth, employ more staff monitor the services and make sure they are giving quality . If need be establish fully functional general medical departments to see cases like malaria etc. Can you imagine if the 36 teaching hospitalsand Federal Medical centres plus the various Specialist hospitals like the Yaba psychiatry hospital, Enugu orthopaedic hospitals and National eye care centres Kaduna were of world standard. Instead of thousands of small ill equipped, poorly staffed health centres that will be built at stupendous costs and then left to rot, when they realise they cannot manage them.