Ekiti State Government has said that functional and well-equipped primary healthcare centers have been established across the 177 political wards in the state to bring healthcare closer to the communities.
The commissioner for health in the state, Dr Oyebanji Filani in a statement made available to NIGERIA TRIBUNE on Wednesday while reacting to a report on the alleged abandonment of health centers in the state, said the previous and the current government has invested so much in the sector in terms of infrastructure, equipment and manpower.
He explained that the said facility in Efon is a community project donated by a former local government chairman, saying that it has nothing to do with the state government.
Oyebanji said, “In line with the PHCUOR policy, the government of Ekiti State has established fully functional PHCs in all 177 wards in Ekiti State, thereby bringing healthcare closer to our communities.
“In 2021, the State government procured brand new life-saving medical and distributed this across these primary healthcare centres. This is in addition to staff redistribution and our NYSC plus program, designed to increase availability of health workers in our facilities.
“ Leveraging the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), the State government purchases an explicit package of services which enables tens of thousands of pregnant women, under-five children and the elderly to access health services in these PHCs at no cost to them.
“ To create awareness and drive demand for these services, signposts were erected in all 16 LGAs in the State, to display the package of services rendered in these fully functional PHCs. The health promotion department of the Ekiti State Ministry of Health also carries out periodic awareness programmes to further sensitise the people of Ekiti State.
“ In addition to the work done in primary healthcare, the State government also invested significantly in renovating 12 high-burden General Hospitals out of 22 in the State, equipped with modern facilities, to serve as referral centres to the PHCs. Our tertiary health facility was also not left behind, with the renovation of the eye and dental care centres and the establishment of a new Intensive Care Unit.
“ Beyond infrastructure, the impact of all these investments is evident in the State’s overall health performance and outcomes. Currently, Ekiti State has an immunisation coverage rate of 85% – the highest coverage for routine immunisation (RI) in the Southwest and 4th highest in Nigeria.
“ Ekiti State has consistently been recognised as having the best-performing disease surveillance team in Nigeria among other laudable achievements.”
The commissioner advised the people to be mindful of reports they read online about the state, adding that, “the good health, well-being and development of Ekiti State remain a major priority for us.”
