Problem of health sector is illiteracy – Sarkin Azara

We are tackling the problem systematically. We have addressed the problems at the primary healthcare level, we are now at the secondary level and all this we have done in only two months. We are now going to Akwanga and Mararaba in the next two months. But are the primary health facilities being properly utilized […]

We are tackling the problem systematically. We have addressed the problems at the primary healthcare level, we are now at the secondary level and all this we have done in only two months. We are now going to Akwanga and Mararaba in the next two months.

But are the primary health facilities being properly utilized particularly in the rural areas?

Yes, particularly when the services are free. You know that what limits access to healthcare is cost. Malaria treatment is free, immunization is free, consultation is free, etc. And there is need for advocacy. It is not enough to have the infrastructure they have to be utilized. This is the responsibility of the stakeholders, media, etc. Much of the problem is illiteracy.

But is it realistic?

The cost is being subsidized. Antenatal is free and caesarean operations, too. The operation is free and the bed is free, but the patients have to buy the consumables that are not available in the hospitals.

When Governor Aliu Akwe Doma came on board in 2007, because he was new in the system, he wanted to audit all the sectors. In the health sector he set up a committee saddled with the responsibility of assessing the health service in the state, that is the Healthcare Services Assessment Committee to assess the status of healthcare in the state in terms of manpower, facilities and infrastructure, drugs and consumables in the state. That committee submitted its report to His Excellency.

In 2009 government did a White paper in respect to the committee’s report. It is on the basis of that report that we are gradually reforming the health sector. Our findings were that the infrastructure was dilapidated – there were no ambulances, maybe in one or two hospitals, there were an average of two doctors in a general hospital, equipment was lacking.

What we did is to look at the schools in terms of manpower development. We advised the governor to upgrade the School of Nursing and School of Health to enable them meet up with the accreditation requirement.

So you practically began from scratch…

Sort of. We also noticed that the primary healthcare system was not performing. It was almost gone. The local governments do not realize that they have responsibility for services at least at the primary healthcare level. So a Primary Healthcare Development Agency was put together, that will improve efficiency in healthcare delivery at this level in terms of immunization, treating simple ailments.

Then it’s pretty much work-in-progress…

All the general hospitals need to be improved upon and the administration identified six general hospitals – two in each senatorial district, namely Wamba, Akwanga, Mararaba, Umasha, Doma and Awe and the specialist hospital in Lafia. At the Dalhatu Specialist Hospital here, government established a five-man committee, what I can refer to as a task force that systematically tackle the problems.

Within the two months we have built a casualty theatre, an administration block, an ophthalmology unit, an emergency paediatric unit, an extension of the blood bank, and taking care of the doctors quarters. Eight flats have been built and we have bought equipment worth N100million in the theatre, laboratory, dialysis unit, etc.

The other dimension we are looking at is how to improve scholarship package for medical and nursing students and the science schools to ensure that we produce science students who will gain admission to study medical sciences.