Post COVID-19: CSO emphasizes need to reposition PHCs in northern states
A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has called for the support of northern state governments to assist in repositioning primary healthcare centres (PHCs).
CITAD Executive Director, Dr Y. Z Ya’u, made the appeal, on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting organized for Executive Secretaries of Primary Healthcare Development Agencies (PHCDAs) of 19 northern states, under the umbrella of Forum of Chief Executives of Northern States PHCDAs.
The program supported by MacArthur Foundation was put together for the purpose of revitalizing and strengthening PHCs in the northern states.
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Ya’u said PHCs were in comatose before the COVID-19 outbreak, whereas state governments paid no attention to them during the pandemic, but “immediately abandoned them after combating the pandemic, hence the need to make sure that facilities are put in place against another outbreak.”
“The primary objective when we started was to combat the issue of vaccine resistance. We are glad that the government did everything possible to combat COVID-19 and relegate it to the background. During the pandemic, we learnt a lot of lessons, especially with regard to reforming Primary Healthcare Centers. After the pandemic, we decided that the documented lessons should not be left in the cupboard, hence the need for the team to document them to add wider value.
“There is also the need to reposition the PHCs even after COVID-19. There is a need for the support of the state governments to reposition PHCs. It is no longer about COVID-19, but reviving the health sector in Nigeria. Meetings like this allow us to look at challenges in the health sector and to brainstorm on the way forward to combat the challenges. The media is critical in providing the right information in order to discountenance false news, misinformation, and fake news about vaccination,” he said.
Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State PHCDA and Chairman, Forum of Northern States PHCDAs, Dr Muhammad Addis Usman, said since its formation in 2016, the forum had been instrumental in the formulation of key policies in the healthcare sector.
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“The goal of the forum is to gather members to exchange ideas on issues affecting PHCs and to make our PHCs visible. We are involved in the development of policies and guidelines for national development. This is because of our transparency, which has led to our inclusion in different committees,” he said.
Qed
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