Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of State for Health, Mr. Olorumnibe Mamora, yesterday, has said there were about 30,000 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across Nigeria, most of them in dilapidated conditions.
Mamora, who was a guest on a live television programme, said the pathetic state of PHCs was responsible for the unprecedented pressure on secondary and tertiary health care facilities in Nigeria.
“Even at that, facilities at the secondary and tertiary health care are overstretched, and there are not in the state they ought to be for effective health care services.
“Howbeit, our desire is to have a functional PHC in every political ward in Nigeria; about 10, 000 of them that would offer basic health care services like ante-natal, malaria, immunisation and the likes to local communities. We have asked states government to look at the existing PHCs and find a way to revive them and make them functional so that some of them can benefit from the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
“Undoubtedly, if we are able to get it right at the level of PHCs, it would significant drop the burden on tertiary health institutions. Regrettably, some of the cases being treated at the tertiary health institutions ought to attended to at the PHCs,” Mamora said.
The minister disclosed that not less than 50, 000 community health extension workers were being recruited to assist in delivering basic health care services to local communities.
He said the new recruits would be adequately trained and deployed to local communities across Nigeria, armed with basic health care knowledge and experience to offer services to the communities.