Ondo State government has accessed $37 million out of $50 million loan approved by the World Bank under the Nigerian State Health Investment Project (N-SHIP) to address the challenges facing the health sector in three states in the country.


The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, and the Special Adviser to the governor on Health, Jibayo Adeyeye, who disclosed this at the weekend during a seminar on how to sustain the health sector financing, said two other states – Adamawa and Nasarawa – benefitted from the World Bank loan.


The Executive Secretary, the state Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Francis Akanbiemu, said about 600 Primary Health Centres (PHC) across the 18 local government areas of the state under the N-SHIP in order to reduce maternal and child deaths in the state. According to Akanbiemu, the PHCs have been serving as mini-Mother and Child Hospitals to complement the existing ones in the state.


However, Adeyeye said the World Bank programme, which began in the state in 2014, would wind down next year,.


This, according to him, is giving the state concern on how to maintain the health scheme which has led to the rehabilitation of many health centres in the state. To sustain the performance base financing project beyond the time World Bank would be withdrawing; Adeyeye said government has put together the Ondo State Contributory Health Scheme. He said: “N-SHIP will be winding down in 2020 in Ondo State. There is need that we sustain the scheme.


The Health Insurance Commission has been established by the law of Ondo State House of Assembly. It has been assented to by the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.”
Source: https://citadelng.com/ondo-gets-37m-health-loan-from-world-bank/