Oyo upgrades 299 PHC of 351Ward

…mulls review of minimum health service package

The Oyo State Government has completed the renovation and upgrade of 299 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in 351 wards across the state.

The upgrade and renovation of PHCs have been fully upgraded, equipped and staffed.

Segun Ogunwuyi, Oyo State chief of staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, who spoke at the stakeholders’ consultative meeting on year 2024 budget for Oyo State, held at Ogbomoso South Local Government Secretariat, Ogbomoso, said that the project was in line with the promise made by the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration, under the Oyo State Roadmap for Accelerated Development 2019-2023.

He said that Oyo State would have at least one grade 3 Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) to allow people at the grassroots to enjoy easy access to basic medical care.

While adding that the remaining 52 will be completed very soon as Governor Seyi Makinde is a talk and do governor, he also informed the people of Ogbomoso that the government has adequately captured them in the 2024 budget for the state.

Read also: Makinde delivering benefits of democracy in Oyo, Obasanjo says

Also, the state government has commenced the process to review its minimum health service package that patients can access at primary health care facilities across the state.

The primary objective of the review meeting is to meet the basic health needs of the entire people of the state.

Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, the State Commissioner for Health, said that the minimum service package needs to be standardised.

Ajetunmobi, a medical doctor, hinted that the initiative is a priority set of interventions which should be provided in PHC centers on a daily basis at little or no cost.

Delivering her speech at the review meeting in Oyo town, added that the government is on the verge of addressing the human resource gap in the primary health care facilities.

The commissioner said further that Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration has shown unflinching commitment to the health sector since he came on board in 2019.

She noted that the commitment of the governor to the health sector of the state was targeted at improving the health indices and level of health status of residents of the state.

According to her, “This meeting is designed to strengthen health service delivery in our state at the PHC level.

“The Minimum Health Service Package (MSP) according to the Federal Government policy is described as a priority set of interventions which should be provided in PHC centers on a daily basis, at all times, and at little or no cost to clients through government financing mechanisms.

“MSP is basically deployed to meet the needs of the entire population in Oyo State where resources are limited by aggregating services together.

“The MSP minimizes costs, both of the services as well as for patients to receive the services. The present administration in the state is also making frantic efforts to ensure that government health facilities are adequately equipped so that the people of Oyo State can enjoy appropriate and qualitative health care”.

Speaking earlier, Muideen Olatunji, executive secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, reiterated the commitment of Governor Seyi Makinde at ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare at primary healthcare facilities in the state.

Read also: Anthrax: FG, Oyo Govt train 50 surveillance agents

He said that the government has completed the renovation of 210 primary healthcare facilities out of the 351 facilities under the watch of the board.

He explained that Minimum Service Package (MSP) is a constitutional requirement that must be acknowledged by relevant stakeholders.

The meeting had in attendance, Olusoji Adeyanju, permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, Olusola Akande, executive secretary, Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), and Lanre Abass, executive secretary, Oyo State Agency for Control of Aid, all medical doctors.

Others are representatives of the programme implementing partners, such as UNICEF, President Malaria Initiative, Breakthrough Action of Nigeria, among others.