Bauchi State Government has signed a new MoU with development partners for improved health care delivery services in the state reiterating the readiness of his administration to implementing the 5-year minimum service package investment plan in an effort to ensure the sustainability of health financing.
The State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, made the disclosure while participating at the 2021 Mid Year PHC MoU review meeting with partners, Bill and Gates Melinda Foundation, Dangote Foundation, USAID, UNICEF, NPHCDA and others in attendance held, on Thursday evening, at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Bauchi.
The governor said that with the singing of the new addendum to the MoU, the state government will drop its counterpart fund for effective implementation of the Healthcare programs before the end of August 2021 stressing that the state government is very much committed to redeeming its counterpart contribution to the MoU basket and in the implementation of all the Seattle declarations.
The governor said that, “Our government has also re-introduced the pre-service scheme for health care professionals in-training to ensure continuous availability of frontline health workers in the facilities. This is to avoid gaps occasioned by retirement, promotions or change of responsibilities.”
He added that “To improve healthcare infrastructure, the state government has renovated general hospitals and two other cottage hospitals as well as the construction of primary healthcare facilities aimed at ensuring the provision of essential health services within the reach of the people both in urban and rural communities.”
To sustain the gains of polio eradication in the country and the African sub-region, the governor said that the state government has ensured that surveillance activities remain active and both human and environmental sample collection and testing has continued.
Bala Mohammed also said that with the support of the federal government and partners, his administration has successfully implemented two rounds of polio vaccinations as part of the outbreak response activities.
Satisfied with the performance of the state in effective health care services delivery in the past two years, the development partners declared their support for the implementation of all primary healthcare programs in the state.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib said that the engagement provides an opportunity to review progress made in the MoU on routine Immunization/primary health system strengthening in the states that signed the MoU.
On the effort of the state government towards strengthening the primary healthcare system, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Dayyabu Hassan said, the state is implementing all the agreed recommendations from the seattle declaration.
The permanent secretary also said that the state government is working with the MoU partners to finalise the MoU extension and to expand the scope of financial accountability mechanisms to other primary healthcare programs.
He added that “We have sustained health budget allocation, improve the timely and adequate release of earmarked health and PHC funds, sustaining the conduct of virtual meetings with partners for optimum coordination of program activities at all levels.”
Dayyabu Hassan further said that “We are also reviewing our work plans to focus on feasible high-impact activities rather than generic and routine activities, Institute quarterly review of PHC and polio eradication performance to sustain oversight.”
Emir of Dass, Alh Usman Bilyaminu Othman commended the state government for paying attention to the success of primary health care reform in the state saying that the situation at that level is gradually changing positively.
The Emir who is the Chairman of Traditional Rulers in Health promised that the traditional institution in the state will continue to be supportive of programs that will improve on health care services and mobilize people to always access health facilities nearest to them.
The meeting which was a virtual one was attended by all the development partners as well as other stakeholders in the primary healthcare sector.
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