… Says 4,000 PHCs revitalized
…Pledges increased access to functional PHCs in 2019
Marcus Fatunmole (Abuja)
The Executive-Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib, has said his administration’s greatest success is ensuring “competent, hardworking, transparent, creative, effective and dynamic” workforce to improve care health delivery to people in Nigeria.
Addressing management team, board members, and employees of the agency at its Second Annual Productivity Awards Ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, the director said the agency was working hard to guarantee improved wellbeing for people of the nation, especially women and children.
He commended the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, board members, management, employees of the agency, including development partners and the media for their contributions towards the success recorded by the agency.
“Our journey to a rebranded, transparent, highly professional, and effective NPHCDA has been characterized by many successes as well as challenges. It is exciting to know that the needle for immunization coverage has begun to move in the right direction, and positive changes are being recorded in the area of primary health care.
“The implication is that more children are being protected from disease and death and have a better chance for a healthier childhood. Households are also being protected from unnecessary health expenditure, and are able to live more productive lives. We are grateful to God for giving us the vision and passion to pursue our agenda of defeating polio, improving routine immunization, improving primary health care situation and also restoring accountability to the agency,” he said.
He added: “however, the most valuable success that I believe we have made is in the people that work in the agency. Our idea of a rebranded NPHCDA is one that has competent, hardworking, transparent, creative, effective and dynamic civil servants. This event which is the second in the series, during which performance awards will be given, is a testament of the fact that such brilliant personnel, future leaders in their own rights, have emerged in the agency.
“The awards they will receive are not only products of their individual efforts, but reflections of the enormous work put in by their colleagues who have worked with them in teams, their directors and other senior colleagues that have mentored them.”
He particularly thanked staff who are retiring and those who died within the year.
Meanwhile, Dr Shuaib pledged at the event to ensure more functional primary health care centres are available to people across the nation in 2019.
He explained that about 4,000 PHCs had been renovated across the nation in fulfilment of Federal Government’s effort to renovate 10,000.
He restated government resolve to ensure all PHCs in the country are functional, and that all communities have access to quality and affordable health care.
“In line with the present administration’s commitment to health care development, in 2019 we will intensify effort to meeting up with Nigerians health need, especially by building health care centre in each community where people work or live,” he stated.
