Dianime Uko
Akwa Ibom citizens could be expecting a 34th anniversary gift in the area of primary health care, as government is finally meeting the criteria to access federal government’s Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
Before now, primary health care in the state had not received the needed attention it deserves, even when it is the closest health level to the people.
According to the World Health Organization, WHO, there should be a primary health care facility in every ward.
Based on the foregoing, it becomes necessary to ask, are there primary health care centers in all the 329 wards in Akwa Ibom state? What are their states of affairs? How many health workers are in each of them and how equipped are they?
To ensure financing for primary healthcare, the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, which is a federal and state funded initiative, was introduced in 2018.
Basic Healthcare Provision Fund is a one percent consolidated revenue fund of the Federal Government and other sources including donors’ contributions, where 50 percent is kept for National Health Insurance, 45 percent for national primary healthcare development and 5 percent for emergency.
The fund is to be sent directly to Ward Development Committees, having identified specific areas of need in their respective primary healthcare facilities, only when the state meets the criteria to access it and will be supervised by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency in the state.
In a bid to access to the funds, Akwa Ibom state government, through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency in the state has concluded the training of 1316 persons drawn from the 329 wards in the state to promote primary health care services.
These trained persons, four per ward, form the Ward Development Committees and are to manage the funds to meet the peculiar needs in their primary health centers.
Speaking on the development, Executive Secretary, Akwa Ibom state Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. ENO ATTAH, noted that the training is the last part of the criteria to meet before the funding, expressing the hope that with the funding available, primary health care will receive a big boost in the state.
Dr. ATTAH also said the agency plans to monitor every step taken by the Ward Development Committees to ensure judicious use of the funds
For members of the Ward Development Committee and the health workers in the primary health centers, the funds will be sunk directly into their peculiar areas of need.
According to Connected Development, an NGO that tracks funds released by Federal government for projects across the country, Akwa Ibom State has lost over 200 million naira since 2018 for being unable to meet the criteria for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
To ensure transparency and accountability, State Lead of the NGO, UBONG EKPE, said it was necessary to follow up and ensure that the money released by the federal government was judiciously spent to meet the health needs of the people.
It is hoped that with Akwa Ibom state government finally meeting the criteria to draw the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, our primary health centers will wear a new look, with basic equipment, drugs and manpower in place to cater for the health needs of citizens
