Abia to get FG’s N2bn Basic Healthcare Provision Fund

Dr. John Ahukanna, the Commissioner for Health in Abia, said on Monday that the state would get over N2 billion from the Federal Government’s Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHPF).

Ahukanna said this in Umuahia during the inauguration of the World Bank Primary Healthcare Center (WBPHC), which was revamped through the 72-hour Clinic Makeover programme under the  state’s Challenge Initiative in Umuahia.

He said that the money from the fund would be utilised to renovate, refurbish and equip the 292 primary healthcare centres in the state.

He said that the centres would wear a new look for effective health care delivery in Abia as soon as the fund became operational.

The commissioner said: “It is going to be applied in our primary healthcare centres for the transformation of healthcare delivery at the primary healthcare level.

“It would be used to ensure the provision of regular electricity supply, potable water at the primary healthcare centers and free drugs for individuals that are registered.

“It is expected that immediately the BHPF kicks off, all the 292 primary healthcare centres in the state will wear a completely new look, which is aimed at serving us better.

Ahukanna added that the BHPF would further solidify federal government’s efforts aimed at transforming the nation’s health sector.

He described the commencement of the 72-hour clinic makeover programme, an urban reproductive health programme funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the state, as a welcome development.

Ahukanna said that the transformation of the WBPHC was an indication that through diligence and commitment, the people’s need for quality healthcare delivery could be met.

“This is the beginning of many things that will happen to health centres in Abia,” he said, adding that the makeover programme was being replicated in other six primary healthcare centres, simultaneously.

Also, Mrs Ngozi Uwasomba, the Secretary of Health Authority in Umuahia North Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said that the 72-hour clinic makeover programme was aimed at enhancing the capacity of healthcare centres and health workers.

Uwasomba said that the concept of 72-hour clinic makeover was for selected health facilities, adding that it was an initiative worthy of emulation.

Dr. Chinagozi Adindu, the Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Board, told journalists on the sideline of the ceremony, that the state-of-the-art equipment in the revamped facility would greatly improve healthcare delivery in the state.

Adindu said that the programme would guarantee easy access to quality healthcare services, capable of contributing immensely to the reduction of mortality and morbidity rates in the state.