Amina Aliyu, head of Babban Dodo Primary Health Centre (PHC) Zaria, Kaduna State, says the centre is recording an average of 1,500 to about 4,000 patients monthly, due to improvement in funding and services.
Aliyu made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday, at the facility located in Zaria.
A NAN correspondent who was at the facility to monitor access to health services in line with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reports that there was a massive turnout of people accessing various health services.
Aliyu attributed the development to the improvement in the quality of services provided following more funding from Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and the state health insurance scheme.
She disclosed that the facility is receiving N482,151 monthly under the state health insurance scheme for 1,122 poor and vulnerable groups enrollees accessing free health care services.
She added that the facility also receives N60,420 monthly under the BHCPF to provide free health care services to 107 poor persons in addition to N42,307 monthly from Zaria Local Government Council.
She said that the facility with 19 staff and critical infrastructure provides 24 hours services to a population of 26,449 in the catchment area.
According to her, the facility has a functional laboratory, delivery room, antenatal and post-natal care, adequate drugs, running water and sanitation facilities among other critical infrastructure.
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“The quality of health services has significantly improved following increased access to more funds; we have not recorded a single maternal or infant death in the last 11 months.
“Children under five years are accessing free medical services, with about 100 children accessing nutrition services weekly.
“More than 813 women visited the facility for ANC services in October alone, while we record between 100 to 150 deliveries monthly.”
The official, however, said that the PHC has no ambulance for emergencies and needs a labour room and incubator considering the number of deliveries being recorded.
She added that the PHC needs additional toilet facilities to cope with the increasing number of clients visiting the centre daily.
Maryam Ibrahim, a mother of three, who is eight months pregnant, said she was impressed with the quality of services being provided.
Ibrahim, who was at the centre for antenatal care, said that health officers treat them with care, and are friendly, humane and professional.
Similarly, Hauwa’u Abubakar, also said she was happy with the quality of services at the facility.
On his part, Abubakar Abdullahi, treasurer, Ward Development Committee that’s supporting the facility, said that the PHC needs more space to accommodate the influx of residents seeking health services.
“Also, we have five toilets and need four additional gender sensitive toilets to meet increasing demand due to the huge population of clients at the facility at a time,” he said.
Farouk Abdulkadir, advocacy and campaign coordinator, Gates Advocacy Project, commended the Kaduna state government for the efforts to increase access to quality health services in line with universal health coverage.
Abdulkadir said the project, being implemented by Save the Children International and funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, would support the government to strengthen its health system and increase access.
The United Nations General Assembly had on December 12, 2012, endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.
The idea is for everyone, everywhere to have access to quality, affordable health care, an essential priority for international development.
As such, each year on December 12, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, and champion what has been achieved so far.
Advocates also push for bigger and smarter investments in health by leaders and encouraging diverse groups to make commitments to help move the world closer to UHC by 2030. NAN
