2014 contract monitors find 2 PHCs missing, 5 not functioning

Independent assessment of contracts awarded since 2014 to build primary health centres in six states "could not locate" at least two of the health centres in Osun and Oyo states. The assessment by monitors using procurement data released by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency also found five of the health centres were "built […]

Independent assessment of contracts awarded since 2014 to build primary health centres in six states "could not locate" at least two of the health centres in Osun and Oyo states.

The assessment by monitors using procurement data released by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency also found five of the health centres were "built but not functioning", four of them in Benue state alone and one in Kano.

The scope of assessment by the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) covered only contracts for health centres awarded in 2014.

Construction on one health centre in Edikwu-Icho Apa in Benue and Rumo in Sumaila council area of Kano had been abandoned, PPDC said in its report.

 

Only nine of the randomly selected 18 health centres assessed in the six states—Benue, Kano, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ogun—were found active.

PPDC concluded primary health centres in the south "seemed better integrated with the communities and were more functional than those in the north built within the same timeframe."

It recommended that the NPHCDA liberate procurement data to enable followup on projects and to ensure adequate delivery.

"The best people to report on procurement performance of primary health care facilities are the beneficiaries of these services. However, the accuracy and precision of the feedback will be based on the communities knowledge of what is to be offered by any PHC facility," said Seember Nyager, PPDC chief executive officer.

The assessment used procurement data available on the open-contracting site budeshi.ng to trace individual contracts and primary health care centres.