Ebiowei Lawal – Yenagoa
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has scored Bayelsa State primary healthcare system low in effective healthcare service delivery, saying that from assessment, health centers across the state are ill-prepared for another pandemic such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which devasted the World a few years ago.
This was part of a field report presented during a one-day symposium organized by Connected Development (CODE) with the theme “Unveiling Measurable Accountability Strategies on COVID-19” in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
The symposium focused on strengthening accountability measures on Covid -19 intervention funds project (SAM-C) and was attended by traditional rulers, government officials, NGOs, lawyers, journalists, women, and youth groups.
Addressing the participants at the event, the Secretary General of CODE, Mukhtar Modibbo, said a recent field report revealed that about 80 percent of the health centers in rural areas, including the outskirts of Yenagoa metropolis, lack vital amenities such as water, electricity and access by road.
He said the NGO is assessing the status of primary healthcare in six states for necessary action to be taken and listed the six states to include Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Bayelsa, Kebbi and Zamfara, and explained that from findings, Bayelsa needs to do more to be able to tackle another outbreak of diseases and other health emergencies at the grassroots.
He also tasked the government to show more political commitment towards building a strong primary health system by equipping the primary healthcare facilities with the necessary equipment and personnel, making it accessible and affordable to the people.
Modibbo said, “the symposium was organised to get people’s view and understand what is happening in the state and across primary healthcare development agencies.
“We have been to several primary healthcare centers to look at three different thematic areas, from Covid administration to personnel and service delivery as well as infrastructural development across the primary healthcare centers to ascertain the level of preparedness for any other pandemic.
“We interact with people to tell us whether or not, what we have as our report is the reality of what is going on in the state. What we are trying to achieve is to prepare the state for any other pandemic.
“We also intend to prepare the people to understand that primary healthcare is their first point of call whenever they feel sick and let the government understand that a conducive environment is key to health.
“We develop a policy brief based on the data we have collected and we try to show the people what we have and then submit it to policymakers. This project is not only in Bayelsa State but also in six other states and we try to showcase how the budget is appropriated and implemented in all the states.
“They are a lot of challenges. Nigeria is big and the problems are enormous. So all we could do is support the government. We got it right with Covid-19 but that does not mean that we did not get it wrong with another pandemic if it happens.”
